"Nobody has seen me like that before!” Selena Gomez enthuses, basking in
the afterglow of the shoot that produced the image you see on this
page. "For one, I’m not smiling—which is refreshing.” Gomez’s grin has
indeed become so recognizable, even she’s sick of it. An actor since the
age of 7, Gomez has grown up onscreen, moving from the Disney Channel
hit series Wizards of Waverly Place to movies like this year’s youthful romantic comedy Monte Carlo (which,
strangely, was produced by and originally developed as a vehicle for
Nicole Kidman). In the music realm, Gomez is no stranger to gold and
platinum plaques thanks to the bouncy dance-pop of her band, Selena
Gomez & The Scene. Then there’s her boldfaced love life. Of late,
Gomez has also become known in some circles as Justin Bieber’s
girlfriend, making her prime stalkerazzi bait: Recent reports circulated
that the Biebs had commandeered the entirety of L.A.’s cavernous
Staples Center so he and Gomez could watch Titanic (1997).
"When I went to the nail salon the next day, this lady ran up to me and
asked, ‘Did that really happen?’ ” Gomez groans. Now 19, and with Wizards
in its final season, Gomez feels ready to move beyond the teen scene.
She hopes to work with directors like David Fincher and Martin Scorsese
on more complicated roles. "I’m the type to show up on David Fincher’s
doorstep and say, ‘I promise I’ll be good!’ ” Gomez says. "What happens
next—that’s the scary-slash-brilliant part.”
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