Selena Gomez never wanted to be a role model

The 18-year-old actress and singer - who is recovering from a spell in hospital for "malnourishment" and exhaustion - tries to do her best for her fans because she is happy for them to look up to her, but she is unsure how she ended up in that position.

Speaking on an E! TV special, she said: "I never really said I want to be a role model. But then when it happened I was so down for it.

"I`m human, I`m not perfect. I make mistakes all the time, but I guess my job is to keep those mistakes to myself, which I`m already fine doing and just try to be the best I can be for those kids."

Selena - who is dating singer Justin Bieber - also acknowledged that as a famous person, her job can be "superficial" and it is easy to get wrapped up in yourself.

She added: "This is a very superficial job. I sit in a chair for two hours and get hair and make-up done and talk about myself in interviews. That`s a very vain thing to do. And I do get caught up in it sometimes."

The `Naturally` singer also told how she didn`t have an easy childhood and found it hard to deal with her parents` divorce.

She added: "I wanted a family so bad. I wanted to have my dad and my mom together. So it was really, it was really hard."

Selena blamed her hospitalisation on her bingeing on chocolate bars and fatty treats, saying she finds it hard to resist sugary foods.

sections: Celebrities