Key Takeaways
- Selena Gomez rejects pressure to recreate her 2016 appearance, saying, “People always want me to look the way I did, and it’s not gonna happen.”
- The 34-year-old says she loves getting older and now embraces a natural beauty look as part of her identity.
- Gomez has also moved beyond her Disney era, closing the door on Alex Russo while preparing for Brady Corbet’s upcoming film The Origin of the World.
Selena Gomez knows some fans would happily keep her frozen in 2016. But at 34 years old, she has no intention of cooperating.
Speaking to People for its latest cover story, Gomez addressed the fascination with photos from her mid-20s that continue circulating online, particularly her smoky-eye looks from 2016. While Gomez can enjoy the nostalgia, she said the conversation sometimes crosses into expecting her to look exactly as she did a decade ago.
“I always make this joke where I think people want to freeze me in time to that period of my life,” Gomez said. “I think people always want me to look the way I did, and it’s not gonna happen.”
Gomez isn't fighting the alternative, either. “Getting older has been so much fun. I’m not scared at all. I love getting older,” she said. “Yeah, things are going to change, and things are going to sag, but you’re alive.”
Gomez has been putting considerable distance between her current life and the version of herself audiences first met as a teenager. In August, she closed another major chapter when Wizards Beyond Waverly Place ended its run. Gomez, who first played Alex Russo in 2007, was unequivocal about whether another return was on the way.
“This is it. This is the end,” she said at the time. “It’s really surreal to say that I’m done playing this character.”
Her next film project couldn't provide a much clearer contrast. Gomez is attached to Brady Corbet's upcoming film, reportedly titled The Origin of the World, an ambitious project the Brutalist director has described as “X-rated.”
The movie, which is expected to also feature Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, explores American mysticism and the history of the occult across a story spanning from the 19th century to the present, with much of the action centered in the 1970s. Sadie Soverall has also been eyed for a lead role.
Gomez's personal life has shifted just as visibly. She married Benny Blanco in September 2025 and has since become considerably more open about their life together. She's called herself “Mrs. Blanco” on Instagram, shared candid photos from their home, and appeared on Blanco's Friends Keep Secrets podcast—where she memorably kissed his bare foot after his visibly dirty feet had already become their own online news cycle.
Even Gomez's relationship with beauty has changed. The Rare Beauty founder said she now gravitates toward a more natural look rather than trying to recreate her 2016 aesthetic. Her company, launched in 2020, also directs 1% of product sales to the Rare Impact Fund, which has raised more than $30 million for youth mental health organizations.
For Gomez, looking different at 34 isn't something that needs correcting.
“Sometimes people don’t like the natural beauty look,” she said, “but that’s kind of my whole identity now.”
