Meet Francia Raisa, the "Beautiful Friend" Who Donated Her Kidney to Selena Gomez

Updated on 9/15/2017 at 12:00 PM

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Selena Gomez shocked the world when she announced this week that she received a kidney transplant earlier this year, which included a message about the special person behind her recovery. In a series of photos on Instagram, Selena showed off her scar and thanked her friend, actress Francia Raisa, for donating her kidney to her, saying: "There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis."

You might remember seeing the 29-year-old on Selena's Instagram feed before, but you've seen her in other places, too. The Honduran and Mexican actress played Solange Knowles's best friend in Bring It On: All or Nothing and guest starred on The Mindy Project and Dear White People. Over the years, she's kept busy working on movies and TV shows, but that's not all she does. Francia owns her own clothing brand called Ellobella, started on Kickstarter in 2015, and even had a modeling career. Learn more about her ahead.

She and Selena go way back.

The two have been friends since they were teenagers. In a 2013 interview with Latina, Francia revealed how they met: "Six years ago Disney and ABC Family [now Freeform] had the stars of their shows go to the Children's Hospital. Selena and I were in the same group and we just clicked."

Her father is famous.

The star is the daughter of famous LA radio personality Renán Almendárez Coello, who is known as "El Cucuy." She's taking after him with her own radio show on Tuesdays on Dash Radio in LA.

She has two sisters.

Francia has two younger sisters, and just like her, they are named after countries in Europe: Italia and Irlanda.

Francia rose to fame on an ABC Family show.

The actress won people over as Adrian Lee on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. In the series, we saw her go through two marriages and teen pregnancy.

We'll be seeing her on the small screen again very soon.

The 29-year-old is coming back to ABC in the Freeform series Grown-ish, the spinoff of Black-ish, set to premiere in 2018.

Dancing is one of the ways she stays in shape.

When she's not waiting to get into savasana, Francia is breaking it down on the dance floor, in heels no less.

Advocating is a part of who she is.

Francia is a huge advocate for Unlikey Heroes, an organization that helps free child victims of sex slavery. She's modeled its signature vintage rose shirt ($27) on its website before, and she uses her Instagram page to raise awareness. For her 29th birthday, she had her friends and family donate to the charity and helped rescue five kids out of slavery.

modeled its signature vintage rose shirt

From

$27

She's a supporter of DACA.

Francia is very passionate about helping spread the word on DACA. After President Donald Trump announced he was rescinding the program, she posted a powerful message on Instagram. "Dreamers do not cause crime, and do not take jobs away from others. DACAS serve in the military, die for this country, respect the flag. They are Americans every day. It's time to unite now more than ever. A peliar! A peliar! A peliar! #daca #defenddaca"

Her motto is "Coffee. Water. Win(e). Repeat"

If you stalk Francia's IG, you will spot her motto in her bio. She loves to unwind with a glass of red wine and is all about taking a break either in her Hello Kitty PJs or writing in her journal outside.

Her dog is her number one.

Francia has a dog named Roman Gatsby, whom she loves to post pictures with.

She's very spiritual.

According to her Instagram, she starts off her day with a cup of coffee, "journaling" her prayers, and "then stepping out in faith."