Selena Gomez has had success on screen, in music and in business, but its her efforts to de-stigmatize mental illness that the 31-year-old is most proud of.
The “Only Murders in the Building” star said at the 2024 TIME 100 Summit this week that her Rare Beauty makeup company brings her joy not because of its popularity, but because it allows her to give back.
Rare Beauty, which she started in 2020, sends 1% of each sale to the Rare Impact Fund, an organization with a stated goal of “expanding access to mental health services and education for young people around the world.” The Impact Fund’s goal is to raise $100 million by 2030.
“I think that we’ve been able to do something that, at least in cosmetics, no one has ever done,” the 31-year-old said during her appearance. “That is what makes me happy every night when I go to sleep.”
“It’s mission-driven,” she continued. “It’s not just about what we’re trying to portray. I’m so proud of the fact that we’re actually doing things, changing things, having conversations, getting people to talk about the right things.”
In fact, Gomez said she wasn’t sure she would have ever gotten into the makeup space if she couldn’t tie it to a cause that was important to her.
“I didn’t want to really enter the cosmetics world without a mission,” she said. “It was a dream that kind of happened within this brand. And on top of it we were able to make, hopefully, decent products that people enjoy.”
The brand made a reported $350 million in sales in 2023, according to Business of Fashion. Bloomberg reported last month that Gomez is considering offers for a possible $2 billion sale of Rare Beauty, though she “expects to remain involved with the business” even after a sale.
