Selena Gomez says she felt recognised as an actor when taking part in her new film Emilia Perez.
The Emmy-nominated actress stars in the drama musical which follows four women as they find their paths to the lives they have always wanted.
She tells Sky News acting in Spanish was a joyful challenge.
“It was very exciting. I’m not completely fluent, so for me, it was really incredible to be able to even just be around people who were speaking it. I found it to be a very proud moment for sure.”
Image: Selena Gomez as Jessi in Emilia Perez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/ France 2 Cinema
The 31-year-old first began her acting career in 2002 after securing the role of Gianna in Barney & Friends alongside her future Princess Protection Program co-star Demi Lovato.
But it was her lead role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place that cemented her position as a prominent figure in the industry and paved the way for the artist to pursue film, TV shows and a hugely successful music career.
Image: Gomez as Jessi. Pic: Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/France 2 Cinema
Leaving the children’s TV channel in 2012, she decided to take on a role in the coming-of-age film Spring Breakers.
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She says being in the project with Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and James Franco felt like the first time she was making something for her and not any external responsibilities she may have had at the time.
“I was only 18. It was a very odd choice for me at the time because I had just finished working on my show and I had this freedom.
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“So in a way I felt like I could rebel. And even though my character is pretty safe in the movie, it was just enough for me to get this hunger for art, for abstract and crazy colours and cinematography. It just became addicting.”
Since then, the creative has secured four Emmy nominations for acting and executive producing, two Grammy nominations for her music and has amassed a reported net worth of over $1bn through her make-up brand Rare Beauty.
She is also the second most followed person on Instagram, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now starring in the Jacques Audiard film Emilia Perez, Gomez says she’s grateful for the path she has had in the industry and feels more “confident” to pursue roles that challenge her skills as an actor.
“I definitely don’t have any regrets. I genuinely think if anything, doing this movie has given me a little bit of a pat on the back and I felt encouraged.
“I feel eager and excited to go for material that I don’t think people would typically expect of me.”
Emilia Perez
Image: Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in Emilia Perez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/France 2 Cinema
The Spanish-language musical is set in Mexico and also stars Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon and Adriana Paz.
Told through a mix of film genres, it follows a drug lord who wants to transition from male to female and her life afterward.
Zoe Saldana, one of the highest grossing actors of all time, says she’ll “never regret being a superhero” but being in this project allowed her to focus on the type of filmmaking she always wanted to do.
“Jacques Audiard is very much aligned with the kind of art that I like to consume, and I like to wish to be a part of.
“So for my career in Marvel and for [Selena’s] in Disney, to deliver us full circle to work with someone that we grew up sort of admiring, it means that the whole road was worth it every step along the way.”
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She added: “I never had the opportunity to reconnect with Spanish in my work through my craft because in my everyday life, as soon as these cameras go off, I’m only in Spanish. So I was happy.”
The Avatar star says she’s aware the film is “a niche of a niche of a niche” project and hopes people are “curious enough to watch this”.
“People are really taking to it and it just goes to show that it is good to bet on yourself and if the choices that you are making in your life are done with an open heart and their heart driven and you’re winning, then stay on that path.”
TV presenter Holly Willoughby has been fined in court after she admitted driving without due care and attention when her car collided with a moped, injuring the rider.
The star, 44, pleaded guilty by post to the charge at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday but did not attend the hearing.
Willoughby was fined £1,653 alongside £130 in costs and a £661 victim surcharge and given six points on her licence, the Metropolitan Police said.
According to court documents, the incident happened on 28 August as she was driving her Mini Cooper near her home in Richmond, southwest London.
Police were called to Church Road, Barnes, following reports of a collision.
The rider of the moped, a 43-year-old man, was taken to hospital. His injuries were assessed as neither life-threatening nor life-changing.
Sabrina Carpenter has hit out at an “evil and disgusting” White House video of migrants being detained that uses one of her songs.
“Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” the pop star posted on X.
The White House used part of Carpenter‘s upbeat song Juno over pictures of immigration agents handcuffing, chasing and detaining people.
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It was posted on social media on Monday and has been viewed 1.2 million times so far.
President Trump‘s policy of sending officers into communities to forcibly round up illegal immigrants has proved controversial, with protests and legal challenges ongoing.
Mr Trump promised the biggest deportation in US history, but some of those detained have been living and working in the US for decades and have no criminal record.
Carpenter is not the only star to express disgust over the administration’s use of their music.
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Olivia Rodrigo last month warned the White House not to “ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda” after All-American Bitch was used in a video urging undocumented migrants to leave voluntarily.
In July, English singer Jess Glynne also said she felt “sick” when her song from the viral Jet2 advert was used over footage of people in handcuffs being loaded on a plane.
Other artists have also previously hit out at Trump officials for using their music at political campaign events, including Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, Celine Dion, Ozzy Osbourne and The Rolling Stones.
Dame Joanna Lumley has warned of a “crisis hidden in plain sight”, with 1.5 million older people set to spend Christmas alone.
Age UK spoke to more than 2,600 people and found 11% will eat dinner alone on 25 December, while 5% will not see or speak to anyone the whole day.
Applied to the overall population, the findings suggest 1.5 million people will eat alone at Christmas, according to the charity.
Dame Joanna said the “silence can be deafening” for those left isolated and called it “a crisis hidden in plain sight”.
The actor and campaigner is now joining other luminaries including Dame Judi Dench, Brian Cox and Miriam Margolyes to back Age UK’s campaign against loneliness.
The charity says its volunteers made more than 70,000 minutes’ worth of calls to people during Christmas week last year and is urging people to donate.
‘A tragedy we don’t talk about enough’
Age UK said it also supports coffee mornings and festive lunches to give lonely people the chance to enjoy in-person interaction.
Dame Judi said: “For so many older people, Christmas can be a time of silence – days without conversation or company.”
Succession star Brian Cox called the issue “a tragedy we don’t talk about enough”.
He said: “Far too many older people are left spending the season in silence, when it should be a time of warmth, connection and joy.”
Image: Brian Cox is another of the campaign’s high-profile backers. Pic: PA
Margolyes, of Harry Potter fame, added: “Growing older shouldn’t mean disappearing into the background, we need to be seen, heard and celebrated.
“That’s what Age UK is striving for – they’re changing how we perceive age.”
The charity’s chief executive, Paul Farmer, said: “Your donation could bring comfort, friendship, and care to an older person facing loneliness this winter.
“From friendly, weekly calls to local lunch clubs, we’re here to make sure no one spends winter alone. But we can’t do it without you.”