Having appeared as a child in the children's television series Barney & Friends, Gomez rose to fame as the leading role in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place. Due to the success of the series, Gomez worked on various films, television shows, and musical collaborations for the network in the following years. Gomez also formed her own production company in 2008, titled July Moon Productions; she serves as an executive producer on the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why, which released in March 2017. She signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records in 2008 and subsequently formed her band Selena Gomez & the Scene the following year. The band released three studio albums and produced four top 30 singles by 2011.

Gomez hoped to focus on her acting career by transitioning into film work, earning starring roles in films such as Ramona and Beezus and the romantic comedy Monte Carlo. Gomez hoped to achieve a more mature image with a role in the exploitation film Spring Breakers, as well as with the release of her solo debut album Stars Dance. The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 in the United States, and included the top ten single "Come & Get It". Gomez embarked on her Stars Dance Tour , though the later part was canceled due to her personal and medical struggles. In the summer of 2017, Gomez would face her biggest health crisis yet when she received a kidney transplant from her best friend: Francia Raisa. The procedure likely saved Gomez’s life.

She signed a new recording contract with Interscope Records, releasing a compilation album as her fifth and final release through Hollywood Records, which was preceded by her second top ten single, "The Heart Wants What It Wants". Gomez released her second studio album, Revival, in October 2015. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, while the first three singles "Good for You", "Same Old Love" and, "Hands to Myself" all topped the Mainstream Top 40 chart in the United States. She embarked on her worldwide Revival Tour in 2016; like her previous tour, it was also cut short due to personal and medical struggles. Among music collaborations, she has worked with Charlie Puth on the song "We Don't Talk Anymore", and with Kygo on "It Ain't Me".

Outside of entertainment, Gomez released her own clothing line through Kmart in 2010 and a self-titled fragrance in 2013. She has worked with various charitable organizations for years and became a UNICEF ambassador at the age of seventeen. Since the start of her career, Gomez has gone on to sell over 7 million albums and 22 million singles worldwide, according to Billboard. As of November 2016, Gomez was the most-followed Instagram user in the world. Gomez has earned a number of awards and nominations for her work as an actress and singer and has won an ALMA Award, a Billboard Women in Music award, an MTV Video Music Award, an American Music Award, a People's Choice Award and fifteen Teen Choice Awards.

In September 2019, it was announced that Gomez became the executive producer of the Netflix docuseries "Living Undocumented," which follows eight undocumented families in America.

In May 2020, it was announced Gomez would host and executive produce the HBO Max cooking show Selena + Chef, which features Gomez joined by a different chef remotely each episode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each episode highlights a food-related charity.

Gomez was included in Time magazine 's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

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