SELENA GOMEZ Before They Were Famous Updated -- Selena Gomez was raised by her teen mother and got into show biz early on. Bullied at school, she focused on her acting career instead and was soon discovered by Disney scouts. She was the star of her own show, but Selena wanted to be taken seriously as a stand-alone artist, and would have to make some moves to distance herself from her perfect Disney image. A budding romance with Justin Bieber seems to have done the trick--that and perhaps some of her dance moves.