Selena Gomez going places, starting with ‘Monte Carlo’

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“We just like being together,” Selena Gomez says of her relationship with her boyfriend, music sensation Justin Bieber. | AP

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Updated: October 1, 2011 12:37AM

Selena Gomez is in bad girl mode. “It’s ordered,” she says. “I’m having it at noon. It’s so good that I can’t resist. I don’t care. I’m doing it.”

The 18-year-old beauty is ordering her first Chicago deep-dish pizza.

Told (cruelly) that it’s calorie-free for pop superstars, she says, “Really?!” in a kid-like, are-you-messing-with-me voice.

It’s good that international fame hasn’t taken the girl out of Gomez. She still giggles, talks boys (more on loving the Bie­b in a moment) and even pauses to reflect on how her life has taken such an unpredictably amazing turn.

It wasn’t always so good.

Her parents divorced when she was very young, which meant Gomez dealt with the financial straits that so many of her young fans endure today.

“My mom was a single mom. I’m just like many girls out there whose parents split up. It’s hard,” she says.

“When I was young, my mom had to work two jobs,” Gomez says. “Usually, our dinner was mac and cheese. I’m not complaining. The truth is, I love mac and cheese, but the point is I’m really grateful for what I have and was always grateful for having a mom who loved me.”

She adds, “When kids write to me about their hard times or dealing with parents or breakups, I can relate. It’s an awesome thing that I can encourage them and say, ‘You can do anything with you life. Just look at me.’”

Just look at her, an international pop sensation with a new album called “When the Sun Goes Down” and a new film called “Monte Carlo,” now in theaters. She plays Grace, a young woman on vacation who winds up in Monte Carlo, where she is mistaken for a British heiress.

“I just loved the script,” Gomez says. “It’s a way to branch out.”

She’s wrapped shooting on “Wizards of Waverly Place,” her Disney Channel series.

“Now, I want to do different things. With movies, it’s about choosing the right role. I think this is a perfect transition for me,” she says. “I wanted to make a cute movie and work with older actresses.”

Katie Cassidy and Leighton Meester play her BFFs along for the ride. “Monte Carlo” was shot in Budapest, Paris and, of course, Monte Carlo. So who did most of the shopping on the set, and who did most of the eating?

“Leighton did most of the shopping,” Gomez says. “I did most of the eating. I ate so many crepes and pastries that I could burst right now just thinking about it. But, oh, those Paris pastries were ah-ma-zing!”

Gomez is the biggest star in the cast, which also includes “Glee’s” Cory Monteith, but her attitude doesn’t reflect that fact.

“I was nervous,” she says. “They were older, but so sweet and so fun. Cory is so awesome and he did such a good job.”

One plus of traipsing the world is that she could roam around unbothered.

“I didn’t get noticed at all,” she marvels. “I don’t even think people knew we were there.”

That’s not usually the case for Gomez, who dates teen star extraordinaire Justin Bieber. Ask about her boyfriend and she giggles.

How can she get a moment of peace out on the town with the Bieber?

“I just try to continue to be as normal as possible.”

As for dating him, she adds, “I’m just living my life. Of course, it’s tough sometimes because people want details and I want to keep my private life for myself. I view it as I’m going to be with whomever I want. That’s living my life.”

As for the two of them on a date, she says, “We don’t even think about where we go and if there will be paparazzi. We just like being together.”

Gomez was briefly hospitalized last month for a bit of exhaustion.

“I’m much better now, thank you,” she says. “I just wasn’t eating right. But it did make me feel so good to feel the love of the fans who were worried.”

Gomez grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas, with her mom, actress Mandy Cornett, who gave birth to Selena at 16.

“I’m an only child. As a kid, basically I just wanted to entertain myself,” she says. “I was very dramatic. I was always putting on a show. I’d force my family to sit down and watch me sing, dance and act. It was always in me.”

Her first stint was on “Barney & Friends” with the big purple dino.

“I remember everything from my time working with Barney,” she says. “I had never been on a set before, never worked with a producer or a prop. It was my first job ever and it was a really great experience.”

At least, it was good on the set.

“Back at school, I got made fun of a lot. I just kept saying, ‘But it’s a really cute show.’”

By 11, her career was kicked into higher gear. She auditioned for a Disney spinoff that never happened. Still, she got to meet with Disney Channel honchos who were conducting a nationwide talent search.

“One day, I was back home in Texas and I got the phone call that changed my life,” Gomez says. “Disney wanted to fly me out to California for the first time. I was jumping up and down and crying at the same time.”

Eventually, she was cast in “Wizards of Waverly Place,” which debuted in 2007. Gomez says ending the series felt right to her.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself,” she frets. “I’ve had withdrawals where I miss the character. I miss the people. It was a very important time in my life, but I know this is right. I’m excited to move onto a new chapter in my life.”

The new album, a follow-up to her gold CD “A Year Without Rain,” is, she says, “a little bit of a dance record. There are pretty sings and drive-in-the-car songs plus great sing-alongs.”

Gomez is going on tour this summer.

“This is when all my hard work pays off,” she says. “I can finally just have fun with my fans. This is also the first tour where I have creative control down to what the dancers are doing. It’s great to be able to create a show.”

Ask her how she handles the stress of a show, a CD, a new movie and beyond at age 18, and she just sighs.

“I love everything I do. Sure, there are times when it gets overwhelming,” she admits. “There are times when I say, ‘I just want to go home.’ But I do get to go home and really relax during my breaks.”

Besides having the Bieber on speed dial, what does she do with her free time?

“Sleep,” she says. “I close the curtains and shut out the world. “Otherwise, I hang out with my friends, walk around outside or go to the beach.”

Don’t expect her to pull a Lindsay and start partying hard. An extra slice of pizza today is about as bad as she gets.

“It wasn’t my goal to be a role model,” she says. “I’m just aware of what my fans think. They’ve helped me become a better person.

“I feel like it’s us — me and the fans — working together. It’s not just me.”

Gomez insists she’s not perfect.

“I make mistakes,” she says. “But that’s part of growing up.”

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