Selena Gomez says it’s been a “challenge” for people to “accept” that she has “moved on” with her career.

The 32-year-old actress found global fame as a teenager on the Disney Channel with her sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place in the late 2000s before going on to have a mainstream pop career.

And after starring in Netflix's French musical comedy film Emilia Pérez, she admits she is grateful to be working on projects that excite her and aren’t necessarily what her fans expect from her.

She told Best magazine: "Right now, I just want to do things that I love. It’s taken a while to get here and it’s been a challenge for people to accept I have moved on, but I am happy. I have learned so much and I’m excited for the future."

The "Lose You to Love Me" singer, who is the founder of Rare Beauty, has endured a tough few years during her time in the public eye as she famously battled chronic autoimmune disease lupus and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2018.

She launched the Rare Impact Fund to help mental health causes and has admitted that even though it has "taken a very long time" to get where she is right now in terms of understanding her mental health.

Selena, who documented her struggles in the Apple+ documentary My Mind and Me, said: "I do. I’m not going to lie, it took me a very long time to get here and I still have moments where I wake up and don’t feel at my best. But it’s all part of having a good relationship with your mental health and understanding how to figure out if, maybe, you need to talk or to seek that help that we all need sometimes!"

Photos of Young Selena Gomez at Start of Career

Look back on these fresh-faced pictures of Selena Gomez at the start of her career in the mid-to-late 2000s.

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