Look at her now.

Selena Gomez is a singer, actress, producer and makeup mogul. While it may

Look at her now.

Selena Gomez is a singer, actress, producer and makeup mogul. While it may seem like she has it all, her life in the spotlight hasn't been easy. 

"My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks—these were all things that honestly should have taken me down," the 29-year-old star told Elle in a very honest interview for September's Latinx issue, which she also guest edited. "Every time I went through something, I was like, ‘What else? What else am I going to have to deal with?'"

While Gomez didn't have the answer in the moment, she did know this: "'You're going to help people,'" she remembered saying to herself. "That's really what kept me going. There could have been a time when I wasn't strong enough and would have done something to hurt myself."

At this point, Gomez has been in the spotlight for more than two decades, catapulting into fame after starring on the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place and going on to release several hits, act in and produce a number of film and TV projects (including her new show Only Murders in the Building) and launch her makeup brand Rare Beauty all while raising millions of dollars for important causes.