Long before Selena Gomez became a household name, she was the daughter of Mandy Teefey (née Cornett) and Ricardo Gomez.
At the age of 16, Teefey and Ricardo welcomed their daughter, named for late singer Selena Quintanilla. Five years later, the couple separated.
“I blamed my mom a lot [for the divorce] because I wanted a family so bad,” Selena recalled during a June 2011 E! Entertainment special about her life. “I wanted to have my mom and dad together. I remember just being angry with my mom. I still feel really bad about that.”
She added, “Having me at sixteen had to have been a big responsibility. My mom gave up everything for me and had, like, three jobs. She supported me, sacrificed her life for me.”
As Selena navigated a career in the acting industry, first landing the role of Gianna on Barney & Friends before becoming a household name on the Disney Channel and beyond, her mom was her No. 1 cheerleader.
Scroll below for Selena’s ups and downs with her mother:
