jennifer lopez biography summary

Jennifer Lopez (I)

• Music Artist

IMDbPro Starmeter Top 5,000 148

• Contact info
• 73 wins & 194 nominations total

Photos 1593

• Producer (produced by)

• Karen Sisco

• Marisa Ventura
• producer (produced by, p.g.a)
• Post-production
• executive producer
• Pre-production
• In Production

• 88 episodes

• producer (produced by, p.g.a.)

• 10 episodes

• 49 episodes
• producer (produced by)

• 35 episodes

• 94 episodes

• Atlas Shepherd

• Jennifer Lopez

• Darcy Rivera

• In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

• Apple Music
• 5′ 4½″ (1.64 m)
• July 24 , 1969
• The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
• Spouses Ben Affleck July 16, 2022 - present
• Children Emme Muñiz
• Parents David López
• Relatives Leslie Scholl (Sibling)
• Other works Music video for Big Pun : "It's So Hard"
• 1 Biographical Movie
• 4 Print Biographies
• 3 Portrayals
• 29 Interviews
• 74 Articles
• 60 Pictorials
• 1260 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

• Trivia Secretly married Marc Anthony on June 5, 2004; all the guests were invited to an "afternoon party", and they were never told that they were going to a wedding.
• Quotes I thought she'd offer me some sympathy. Instead, she said, "Don't you ever call me crying again! You wanted to be in this business, so you better toughen up!". And I did. [to Redbook magazine August 1999, on the lesson in tough love she got from her mother]
• Trademarks Often has dance sequences in her music videos
• Jenny from the Block
• La Guitarra
• La Diva del Bronx
• Salaries Hustlers ( 2019 ) $9,000,000

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5 things we learned from the Jennifer Lopez Netflix documentary 'Halftime'

Jennifer Lopez is all about getting loud.

The artist has a lot to say in her new documentary, "Halftime," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last week and rolled out on Netflix on Tuesday.

The film looks at Lopez's professional life in recent years, including the making and promoting of the movie "Hustlers" and behind-the-scenes of the Super Bowl Halftime Show she headlined with Shakira. It also offers a window into her personal life, including a brief cameo of fiancé Ben Affleck . (Her ex-fiance Alex Rodriguez is not mentioned or included in the documentary at all. They broke up in April 2021).

Here are five takeaways from the documentary.

Lopez was frustrated about splitting the Super Bowl show

For the 2020 halftime show, Lopez and Shakira each split their time evenly for the 14-minute performance, singing a medley of their major hits.

And while Lopez was honored to perform on a national stage with Shakira, behind the scenes she was also frustrated about the time constraints on the performance.

During one scene, Shakira and Lopez chat about the Super Bowl on the phone: Lopez tells Shakira, “If it was going to be a double headliner, they should have given us 20 minutes. That's what they should've f------ done.”

When prepping the show with her music director, Lopez is also seen getting frustrated over the time constraints. "This was the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl," she says.

At one point ahead of the show, she's also captured on video talking on the phone with Ricky Kirshner, an NFL producer, saying the finale "can't just be one minute."

"We're trying to squeeze this down to the bare minimum. It's hard because it's such a big stage, and it's such an important show. And all of us have dreamed of doing it. And it's been a nightmare since we've started."

When Kirshner pushed back, Lopez responds by saying: "I'm trying to give you something of substance... I want something that's going to make a statement."

The NFL also "didn't want the cages in the show," according to Lopez and others in the documentary.

"To take out the cages and sacrifice what I believe in would be like not being there at all," Lopez says in the documentary. She says she stood her ground, asserting that "The Super Bowl is tomorrow and we're not changing anything."

Ultimately, the show kept the political statement in place. There were child performers in glowing spheres that many interpreted as a reference to the immigrant children and youth being held at U.S. detention centers. Emme, Lopez's daughter, also joined her mother on stage and sang a few bars of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" as Lopez unfurled a feathery flag that featured the American and Puerto Rican flags on it.

Lopez posted on Instagram the day after the Super Bowl. She wrote in the caption, "other people can try to build walls, keep us out or put us in cages. We are proud to recognize that all of us together are what makes this beautiful country truly great.” At the time, the comments about walls and cages seemed to confirm speculation that she was sending a political message with her set.

Seeing images of kids in cages at the border motivated Lopez to get more political

During the documentary, Lopez notes that she's not "into politics."

"I’m not that person," she says. "But I was living in a United States I didn't recognize. I was afraid for my kids, for their future."

It was seeing images and footage of kids in cages at the border that made her feel like she "couldn't believe" what she was watching. In 2018, hundreds of kids were  separated from their parents  at the U.S. border as part of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy.

"You don’t rip a child from their parents," she says. "There are just certain things as a human being you don’t do."

"It made me realize that I had a responsibility to not be quiet," she adds. "To not just leave the politics to everybody else."

When prepping her Super Bowl act with Shakira, Lopez is seen discussing making a statement with their show and defying the "narrative that Trump created" that "everybody's an immigrant trying to sneak into the country and is who is a criminal."

"Some of us have been here for years," she says. "And a lot of those people are just good people who are looking for the American dream. That's all they want." 

Lopez considered quitting Hollywood amid scrutiny, jokes at her expense

As her career blew up, Lopez says there was a time when she "had really low self esteem."

"No matter what I achieved," she says in the documentary. "Their [the media's] appetite to cover my personal life overshadowed everything."

"I believed a lot of what they said, which is that I wasn't really good," she says.

The documentary shows clips of late night shows mocking Lopez, particularly her relationship with Affleck. The pair known as "Bennifer" were one of Hollywood's hottest couples from 2002 to 2004. They called off their wedding days in advance and later broke up.

Each then married other people. Lopez was married to singer Marc Anthony, whom she  split  with seven years later. Affleck married actor Jennifer Garner, but in 2015 they  announced  they were divorcing after 10 years of marriage.

The couple  reunited last year,  but initially kept  their romance  under wraps. They announced their engagement in April 2022.

Affleck is briefly interviewed for the documentary, where he is asked about the scrutiny Lopez received during the early days of their relationship.

"I said to her once, doesn't this bother you?" he says in the documentary. "And she said, I'm Latina, I expected this. You just don't expect it, you expect to be treated fairly." 

The jabs impacted Lopez.

"There were many times where I was like I think I'm just going to quit," she says. "I had to really figure out who I was and believe in that and not believe anything else."

The documentary also shows a series of clips of people in the industry mocking Lopez's butt in various segments that appeared on air.

"When I started working, the beauty ideal was very thin, blonde, tall, not a lot of curves," she says. "It was hard when you think people think you're a joke. Like you're a punchline. But I wound up affecting things in a way that I never intended to affect them."

The 'Hustlers' Oscar nomination snub hit Lopez hard

Throughout the documentary, viewers are given a look at all the work that Lopez put into the movie "Hustlers," including taking pole dancing lessons.

"It's super painful because it is like a crash course," she says in the documentary, pointing to bruises on her legs obtained from learning.

The film, she says, was especially exciting to her because it "had substance."

"That's something I fought for in my career," she says. "This is a film about women who had limited options and had to make hard choices. These characters remind me of women I knew growing up in the Bronx."

The documentary highlights all the awards season buzz Lopez generated for her role as Ramona, the senior dancer at a New York strip joint, in the film.

In December 2019, Lopez received a Golden Globes nomination for the role. "It only took 20 years," Lopez jokes in a call reacting to the nomination. 

The cameras follow Lopez to the ceremony itself. She didn't win.

When reflecting on the loss, she says to the camera, "I really thought I had a chance; I felt like I let everybody down."

The Oscars nomination snub also hit Lopez hard.

At one point in the documentary, she is seen reading positive reviews and getting emotional about the overwhelming supportive reaction.

Amid awards season, she is also seen juggling rehearsals for the Super Bowl and attending events, remaining hopeful for a nomination for the most coveted award in Hollywood.

The morning the 92nd Academy Awards nominations were announced in February 2020, Lopez did not get the nod.

"The truth is I really started to think I was going to get nominated," she says in the documentary. "I got my hopes up because so many people were telling me I would be. And then it didn't happen. I had to ask myself, what does that mean? I do this not for an award ... I do this to tell stories and to affect change and to connect with people and make them feel things, because I want to feel something. That's why I do it."

Lopez strives to 'be better in every way'

Lopez said it took her a long time to "find" her way in the industry.

She said after her divorce with Marc Anthony, the father of her children, she took a lot of time to reflect on her career.

"As an artist, I kind of lost a little bit of who I was in trying to kind of build a perfect life, a family life," she said. "And when my kids were 3… I got divorced. I was a single mom with two little kids, at 42…movie roles were not knocking down my door. As I was getting back to work I really felt like I didn't know what my value was anymore."

Being a judge on "American Idol" helped her "find her purpose."

"I really learned a lot about myself," she said, including that she needs "to be better in every way."

"You know you have those moments in this business where you're like, what's next? And will anything be next?" she says in the documentary. "I think every entertainer, every creative person, every artist, lives with that fear."

Now, however, Lopez says "I’m going to be unafraid to get loud and use my voice in the best way that I can."

At this point in her career, Lopez said she's "thriving" in a way she "never imagined." The documentary comes to an end by showing footage of Lopez's performance at President Joe Biden's Inauguration.

"I'm not done," she says at one point in the documentary, "not even close."

is culture and trends editor for NBC News Digital.

Jennifer Lopez Biography

• Jennifer Lopez

actress Born: 7/24/1969 Birthplace: Bronx, New York

Film and television actress best known for her portrayal of Selena, the murdered Tejano singer, in the movie Selena (1997), for which she earned a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination. Lopez started off dancing in stage musicals, and first appeared on the Hollywood scene as one of the “fly girl” dancers on In Living Color (1990). After several failed television series, she appeared in the critically acclaimed film Mi Familia (1995), and has since appeared in various other movies on the big screen. Television credits include South Central , Second Chances (1993) and Malibu Road ; film credits include Jack (1996), Money Train (1997), Anaconda (1997), The Cell (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001) and Angel Eyes (2001). 2003 was not a good year, first, with the end of her marriage with Cris Judd, then the universal panning of the movie Gigli with then-fiancee Ben Affleck. She married singer Marc Anthony in June 2004.

Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.

Jennifer Lopez - Biography

Jennifer Lopez Biography

Jennifer Lynn L�pez (aka J. Lo , born July 24, 1970) is a well-known Puerto Rican - American actress, singer, designer, dancer, and fashion icon. She was born and raised in the Soundview section of Bronx , New York City , New York . Lopez speaks English and Spanish and has two sisters, Leslie (a music teacher) and Lynda , a well known television news anchor.

• J.Lo or Jaylo
• La Lopez (The Lopez)

Before being famous

She started off as a backup dancer. She later took up acting, saying that she always knew she wanted to do this, and that her inspiration came from some of her favorite artists.

She started in television as a 'fly girl' (dancer) on the television comedy program In Living Color . She also played a small role in a short-lived television program 'South Central'. Lastly, she has starred in 'Second Chances' and 'Hotel Malibu'.

She started her acting career early in the 1990s with movies like Mi Familia , Money Train , and U-Turn , but her breakthrough was the part of Selena Quintanilla in the movie Selena . She followed this with a well-received performance in Out Of Sight with George Clooney . She has also appeared in Anaconda , The Cell , Angel Eyes , The Wedding Planner , Enough , Maid in Manhattan , Gigli , Jersey Girl , and Shall We Dance , ' Monster-In-Law & has appeared in several other movies and television shows.

Her music, mainly pop , includes the albums J.Lo and On The 6 , a reference to the subway line she used to take growing up in Soundview.

On The 6 was released in 1999 and featured the massive first single, 'If You Had My Love'. It also contained the Spanish language , Latin -flavored duet 'No me ames' with Marc Anthony , which was an international hit and was not released as a single in the United States , although the video got moderate airplay on American VH1 and The Box as a novelty.

In the fall of 1999, the album's second American single, 'Waiting For Tonight' was released. It was not a hit on the same scale as 'If You Had My Love', but was huge nonetheless. The memorable video capitalized on the millennium craze of the time, featuring J. Lo at a futuristic dance party in a jungle, while an enormous clock counted down the seconds to the year 2000. The video also had a popular dance remix , by popular club remixer, Hex Hector . To date, the remix video still gets occasional airplay on MTV2 , during dance blocks.

The albums also included the other hit singles like, 'Feelin' So Good', a hip hop track which contained guest raps by Big Pun and Fat Joe and the Latin - dance -flavored track, 'Let's Get Loud'.

Towards the end of 2000, Lopez released 'Love Don't Cost A Thing', her first single from her second album, J. Lo . Upon the album's release in early 2001, it quickly rose to the top of the charts; as had the single, which became her biggest hit since 'If You Had My Love'. The second single, 'Play', which was written by rising teen star, Christina Milian , was a huge dance radio and club hit in early 2001 and was also successful on pop radio.

The album's next two singles, 'I'm Real' and 'Ain't It Funny' were her biggest ever hits both spending many weeks on top of the Billboard charts. However, to capitalize on this, Lopez asked Murder Inc. to remix both songs, completely changing the lyrics and melodies and adding raps from Ja Rule in both songs, and from Caddillac Tah to 'Ain't It Funny (Remix)'. The 'I'm Real' and 'Ain't It Funny' remixes were two of the biggest pop and rap hits in late 2001 and early 2002, respectively, and their more hip hop sound gave J.Lo street credibility and brought her music to a whole new group of fans.

She continued the successful trend by getting 50 Cent and Nas to write rhymes for two remixes of her next single, 'I'm Gonna Be Alright'. In mid-2002, Lopez released a remix album called J To The L-O: The Remixes , featuring the already popular rap remixes of 'I'm Real', 'I'm Gonna Be Alright', and 'Ain't It Funny', and well as the dance remix of 'Waiting For Tonight'. The album also included rarer dance and hip hop remixes of her past singles, and a new song, a ballad called 'Alive,' which was included in Lopez' movie, Enough .

In the fall of 2002, Lopez released This Is Me... Then , which spawned three hugely popular singles: 'Jenny From The Block,' (based on the 'Watch Out Now' by the Beatnuts which included raps from Jadakiss and Styles P ); 'All I Have,' one of 2003 's most popular songs to date, which was a duet with LL Cool J ; and 'I'm Glad'. Later she released the fourth single 'Baby I Love You' the musical theme for the movie 'Gigli.' Last, she released the fifth single 'The One', but the video was based on the remixed version of the song which featured East Coast Rapper Joe Budden .

On November 18, 2003, she released her fifth album, Reel Me , which included a DVD having all her music videos from her first video 'If You Had My Love' to her last one 'Baby I Love You.' This album also included a bonus track, 'Baby I Love You (Remix)' featuring R. Kelly .

Discography

• 1999 'On the 6' #8 US, US sales: 3,000,000
• 2001 'J. Lo' #1 US, #2 UK, US sales: 4,000,000
• 2002 'J to tha L-O! The Remixes' #1 US, #4 UK, US sales: 1,500,000
• 2002 'This is Me... Then' #2 US, #13 UK, US sales: 2,500,000
• 2005 'Rebirth'

Hit singles

• 1999 'If You Had My Love' #1 US, #4 UK
• 1999 'Waiting for Tonight' #8 US, #5 UK
• 2000 'Feelin' So Good' #52 US, #15 UK
• 2001 'Love Don't Cost a Thing' #3 US, #1 UK
• 2001 'Play' #10 US, #3 UK
• 2001 'Ain't It Funny' #3 UK
• 2001 'I'm Real' #1 US, #4 UK
• 2002 'Ain't It Funny' (remix) #1 US, #4 UK
• 2002 'I'm Gonna Be Alright' #10 US, #3 UK
• 2002 'Jenny from the Block' #3 US, #3 UK
• 2002 'All I Have' (feat. LL Cool J) #1 US, #2 UK (2003 release in the UK)
• 2003 'I'm Glad' #32 US, #11 UK
• 2004 'Baby I Love You' #72 US, #3 UK
• 2005 'Get Right' #13 (5 weeks in) US, #1 UK
• 1999 'Feelin' So Good'
• 2001 'Let's Get Loud', US sales: 500,000
• 2003 'The Reel Me', US sales: 1,500,000

Claims to fame

• Lopez was the first Latina to get paid over a million dollars for a project.
• Lopez was the first Latina actress to star in a leading role in film since Rita Hayworth retired in the 1970s .
• Lopez is (in 2003) the highest paid Latina actress in Hollywood.
• Lopez's first album On The 6 went platinum 8 times.
• Lopez's first single 'If You Had My Love' was #1 for more than 9 weeks.
• Lopez is the first actress and singer to have a movie ('The Wedding Planner') and an album ('J.Lo') at #1 in the same week.
• Lopez's second album J.Lo went platinum 9 times.
• Lopez's third album J To Tha L-O! The Remixes was the first album of remixes to hit #1, because no other album of remixes had climbed the chart.
• Lopez's perfume Glow made history in 2001, by being the #1 perfume in more than 9 countries in more than 4 months.
• Lopez is the only woman who has been #1, 3 years in a row in the FHM list of the 100 Sexiest Females in the world.
• Lopez made the 2004 Fortune list of the wealthiest entertainers under the age of 40. Her wealth is estimated at $255 million.
• Lopez's butt is often an object of admiration as well as the brunt of many jokes in popular culture.
• Lopez made the highest debut of 2003 on the US charts with All I Have debuting at #17.
• Lopez has sold over 35 million records worldwide.

Lopez owns a clothing line called J.Lo By Jennifer Lopez. Her line is the most successful clothing line of artists on the industry market. Furthermore, she is planning to launch a jewelry line, hats, gloves, and a scarves line.

Lopez also launched a new clothing line called Sweetface which hit stores in November 2003, as well as a new perfume called Still, which was introduced in October 2003.

She did a photoshoot to represent the Louis Vuitton winter 2003 campaign, in which the pictures would be seen all over the world through TV commercials, billboards, ads, newspapers, magazines and more.

Other merchandise includes clothing for men and a cologne line for men due for release in winter 2004/05.

She does have a perfume line out right now called Glow, and she was in question before, because the name came from another patented perfume.

Jennifer Lopez owns a production company Nuyorican Productions, in which she is expected to produce some of her upcoming movies. Some of the projects are Carmen , Dirty Girls Social Club , and The Hector Lavoe Project . This company was founded together with her manager, Benny Medina, against whom she filed a lawsuit because of alleged fraud in July 2003.

The company produced the commercially successful movies The Cell , The Wedding Planner , and Maid In Manhattan . These three movies put together made more than $500 million worldwide.

Upcoming movies

• An Unfinished Life (December 24, 2004)
• Tick Tock (Spring 2005)
• Monster In Law (July 2005)

Relationships

Lopez has been in two short-lived marriages. The first one, which was with Ojani Onoa , ended in divorce in 1998 after 21 months, and the second, in 2001-2002, was with Chris Judd , her former backup dancer. Between marriages, in 1999-2000, she dated singer and designer Puff Daddy , breaking up after a shooting incident in a New York night club. Recently, Lopez has been engaged to Ben Affleck , but the marriage planned for September 13, 2003 was called off a few days before the event. In January 2004 the couple split.

News media reported that on June 5, 2004, Lopez married singer Marc Anthony . However, after more than half a year of matrimony, it has been rumoured that the Lopez-Anthony marriage may be on the rocks.

Related Articles

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

External links

• Official Website of Jennifer Lopez �( http://www.jenniferlopez.com )
• Unofficial Jennifer Lopez Fan Site �( http://www.jlo.net/ )
• Jennifer Lopez Lyrics �( http://lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/J/Jennifer-Lopez.html )
• Jennifer Lopez Links �( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jenniferlopezlinks/ )
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April 18, 2024

Life Story of Famous People

Short Bio » Pop Singer » Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer and fashion designer. Jennifer Lopez became the first Latina to get $1 million for a movie role. She is also an accomplished musician. She is one of the most successful ladies in Hollywood. Her music career has also been on the top level. Her most notable film roles are Selena, Out of Sight, Anaconda, Maid in Manhattan, Shall We Dance, Money Train and Parker. Jennifer Lopez is the most influential Hispanic performer in United States of America. Waiting for Tonight, Dance on the Floor and Ole Ole are few of her hit songs.

Jennifer Lopez was born on July 24 1969. She was brought up in Bronx . Her parents are Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez. They were relatively poor during her childhood. At the age of 5 Jennifer Lopez started music classes. She has an elder sister named Leslie. Jennifer Lopez also has a younger sister named Lynda Lopez. Lynda Lopez is a Journalist. While still in high school Jennifer Lopez was cast in My Little Girl. After that she decided to become a famous movie star. She was a dancer in the series In Living Color. In 1993 Jennifer Lopez decided to become a full time actress. She starred alongside Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in the Money Train. In 1997 she starred in Selena. This became her breakthrough roles into Hollywood stardom. After that she starred in the blockbuster Anaconda . In 1999 Jennifer Lopez topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her debut album On the 6. After the success of her following album J.Lo she became one of the hottest pop stars in the world. She is currently the highest paid Latin entertainer in United States. She recorded the official FIFA World Cup 2014 song with Pitbull and Claudia Leitte.

Jennifer Lopez became a sex symbol during her rise to fame. She has always been listed amongst the sexiest women in the world. She married a waiter Ojani Noa in 1997. They divorced a year later. Jennifer Lopez then married Chris Judd in 2001. The married lasted only two years. She later married Marc Anthony in 2014. Lopez gave birth to twins Emme and Maximilian in 2008. The couple divorced in 2014. Jennifer Lopez also had a high profile relationship with actor Ben Affleck after her Second marriage. Her net worth currently is around $400 million.

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The Top 15 Most Legendary J.Lo Moments of All Time

By Rob Sheffield

Rob Sheffield

Has there ever been a star like Jennifer Lopez ? Never. What a long, weird, wonderful career she’s built — a whole new genre of celebrity, a one-woman paradigm shift in pop culture. She’s done it all. A little song, a little dance, a lot of movies, some romance.  

The world’s most famous Latina. The world’s most famous Gen-Xer. A one-woman assault on cultural clichés. A gangster. A hustler. J.Lo’ s career has been packed with glorious highs and a few hilariously disastrous lows, just because that ’ s how legends roll. There was no Jennifer Lopez before her. There will never be anyone like her again. And she’s never been cooler than right now. So here, we salute this woman and her one-of-a-kind career. Let’s get loud.  

In Living Color , 1991  

Dig if you will the picture of pop culture before Jennifer Lopez came along. A colder, blander, duller place, just waiting for her to take over. When we first met her, she was a dancer in the hip-hop scene. Her earliest known TV footage: grinding in tights next to MC Hammer circa 1988 on Yo MTV Raps . But she made her big debut as a Fly Girl on the sketch-comedy classic In Living Color . Series creator Keenen Ivory Wayans gave her a special intro: “We got a new Fly Girl! Coming all the way from the Bronx, Miss Jennifer Lopez!” Right from the start, she was already a star.  

Selena , 1997  

Her first big movie. She was still an unknown at this point, and some people thought it was crazy to give such a plum role to a rookie — especially letting her play a legend as beloved as Selena just two years after the Tejano singer was murdered. There was controversy over casting a Nuyorican, neither Mexican nor Texan, with no music experience. But the movie was an instant smash. Overnight, people found out Jennifer was a real actress. “ I have the stardom glow,” she announced. “ See, I grew up watching real movie stars — Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe.”  

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The moment she became a true movie star, glamming it up on the red carpet with Joan Rivers. Nobody had heard of her yet — Selena had just dropped a few days earlier. La Lopez walked into the Oscars as just another Hollywood ingenue, but she walked out a legend. She went for old-school allure with Rita Hayworth curls and a lace Badgley Mischka dress. Then Rivers spoke those fateful words: “Turn around for us!” Four seconds that changed the world. Lopez took her swivel, smiled over her shoulder, and hit reset on the whole concept of “glamour.” Anyone watching could tell you she was going to be famous forever .  

Biggie and Puffy’s “Been Around The World” Video, 1997  

Lopez crashes into the hip-hop world, kicking off her Puffy Era. The video was a typically lavish Bad Boy production, with Puff Daddy acting out his James Bond fantasy over a sample of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” (Biggie raps the hook on the track, released a few months after his death.) Jennifer doesn’t appear until seven minutes in, as a princess who falls under Puffy’s erotic spell. He kisses her hand. They break into a sensual tango. Then she and Puffy became the world’s favorite soap opera.  

U-Turn , 1997  

Her femme fatale breakthrough. Look, nobody thought U-Turn was a great Oliver Stone movie — just another Nineties neo-noir homage, filmed in the Arizona desert. Like all these movies, it had a cynical but sexy drifter (Sean Penn), an evil old rich guy everyone wants to kill (Nick Nolte), and a dangerous lady in a red dress who’s Not What She Seems. Obviously, that’s Jennifer. U-Turn was the first time she got to play a bad girl: She gets to kill Penn, Nolte, and Powers Boothe.  

Out of Sight , 1998  

Her coronation as an actress, and still her finest performance. The Steven Soderbergh thriller paired her up with George Clooney for an insanely re-watchable crime yarn. As my colleague Maria Fontoura points out, it’s the most onscreen sexual chemistry either Lopez or Clooney has ever had with a co-star. She was more than just an actress at this point, she was a pop-culture phenomenon. 

Movieline Cover Story, 1998  

One of the top ten movie-star magazine interviews of the 20th century. We were all expecting a typical publicist-guided starlet profile, with the usual clichés. Instead, we got peak Lopez shade, the most inflammatory showbiz interview in years. She explains why she’s so famous (“because I’m the best”) and why she hates every other woman in Hollywood, all while lounging by the pool in her bikini. She rips into Salma Hayek, Cameron Diaz (“a lucky model who’s been given a lot of opportunities I wish she would have done more with ” ) , Gwyneth Paltrow (“tell me what she’s been in?”) , Demi, Winona, etc. But she saves her most vicious lines for Madonna — the nerve of a singer trying to act! So insulting for a real actress like Lopez! “I’m like, ‘Hey, don’t spit on my craft!’” Absolute best moment? Interviewer: “What one thing should any woman in Hollywood never be without ”? Lopez : “Mace.”    

Grammys Red C arpet, 2000   

Her Versace silk-chiffon dress was an era-defining fashion coup. We could argue all day about Lopez’s red-carpet power moves, but this dress was the most controversial. She came to the Grammys with Puffy as her date, but nobody noticed the guy. The fabric was so sheer, it was like Donatella just sneezed through a green napkin. And as for the neckline… well, there wasn’t one. That knot tied at her waist was doing a lot of heavy lifting. J.Lo was the only thing about Grammy night that anyone remembered the next day.  

“ Waiting for Tonight, ” 200 0  

OK, the music career. Some ups, some downs, right? At first, it was bewildering that such a brilliant actress — someone who wanted to be the next Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner — was wasting her time trying to be the best disco singer in the Bronx. Yet nobody could doubt J.Lo’s commitment. “Waiting For Tonight” is still her best song by a mile, a tribute to the NYC-Miami Latina freestyle explosion of the Eighties. Wonder how Madonna felt?  

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Part of what makes Lopez a true star: When she flops, she flops on a legendary scale — and gets right back up. And her long-running Bennifer saga is one of the all-time great Hollywood love stories, especially their 2021 reunion. The way she bounced back from A-Rod to her shoulda-been Ben Affleck was a damn inspiration. Gigli was their first attempt to capture their connection on film, but it came to symbolize their breakup. Now Bennifer 2 is heartwarming proof that it’s never too late for romance, especially the adult, don’t-give-a-fuck kind. The very definition of “couple goals.” Viva amor , you crazy kids!  

American Idol , 2011

The big comeback. Nobody expected a thing from J.Lo at this point. But on American Idol , she got to be her most charming self, taking over the Paula Abdul role as the designated crier. She cheered, she wept, she got up to dance, she made everybody adore her again, and she even survived a couple years of sitting next to Steven Tyler on live TV. Finally — her redemption arc! When J.Lo left, Idol hired… Mariah. (Hmm — do these ladies know each other?)  

Meryl and Jennifer at the Oscars, 2015  

By now, Jennifer was a fixture at award shows — who can forget the 2012 Oscars, when she and Cameron Diaz made a chummy comedy duo, staging an ass-waving contest for the camera. (Maturity award to Cameron for forgiving the whole “lucky model” thing.) But her best moment was the 2015 Oscars, where she sat next to Meryl Streep and they screamed their hearts out for Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech/plea for gender equality, spawning one of the iconic feminist GIFs of our era.  

Hustlers , 2019   

This changed everything about the J.Lo story. Not just her best movie role in 20 years, but a paradigm shift where J.Lo the celebrity finally fused with Jennifer Lopez the actress. Like Brando in The Godfather or Pacino in Scarface , she was a veteran legend coming on hungrier than ever, playing a stripper taking over the crime world. Lopez, Keke Palmer, Cardi B, Lizzo — this whole cast deserved Oscars. Hell, the Academy should have revoked all previously awarded Oscars and forwarded them directly to the Hustlers crew.  

Super Bowl Halftime Show with Shakira, 2020  

The world’s two most famous Latinas win the Super Bowl with an instant-classic showbiz blitz. This was the “Heat” diner scene of Latina pop, with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez giving an athletic display far more impressive than the actual game. It was pure Gen-X excellence, with both queens making a nationwide live TV audience gasp out loud. Who can step to Lopez as a fiftysomething bombshell? Brad Pitt ripped off his shirt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , but did he dare to writhe on a stripper pole? Nope. Best moment: J.Lo made a pointed political statement by strutting her stuff to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” then whipping off her cape to reveal the Puerto Rican flag.  

Inauguration Day, 2021   

President Joe Biden’s inauguration was a nationwide celebration, but it wouldn’t have been complete without Jennifer, right? After four years of an America-hating Scott Baio fan in the Oval Office, we all needed this. The star of Hustlers celebrating the defeat of fascism by singing “This Land Is Your Land” at the White House? And reciting the Pledge of Allegiance en Españ ol? Peak America. And peak J.Lo. Hail to the chief.  

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Jennifer Lopez - Biography

The multi-hyphenate superstar was born in 1969.

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in New York's Bronx borough to Puerto Rican parents David and Guadalupe. Although her mother, a kindergarten teacher, and her father, a computer specialist, wanted her to be a strict student, Jennifer was passionate about pursuing an extraordinary life in the arts from a young age. She wanted to sing, to dance, to act and in short, wanted to be famous.

At 17, Jennifer landed a place at Manhattan's Phil Black Dance Studio, and in 1991, she got her first big break when she was chosen as a dancer on the US TV show, In Living Colour.  The occasional film and TV role followed, but it wasn't until the 1997 eponymously titled bio-pic about murdered Latin American singer Selena that J.Lo really hit the big time, becoming the first Latina actress to earn $1 million for a role. She has since gone on to star in many more high-profile movies, including: Anaconda, The Wedding Planner, Hustlers  and Marry Me .

Singing success

Mindful however of the fact that she also didn't want to lose her musical roots, in the late 90s Jennifer had a friend help her secure a meeting with Tommy Mottola, the then-president of Sony Records. Impressed by her demo, he signed her up, and in 1998 she started work on her debut album, On The 6 which went platinum in the States within months of hitting the stores. 

Her next effort, J Lo , was released in January 2001, with the single 'My Love Don't Cost A Thing', hitting the number one spot in the UK. In 2011 she joined the judging cast of American Idol . She earned herself a successful Las Vegas concert residency from 2016 to 2018, and headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2020.

Personal life

Over the years, J.Lo has been linked to several high profile actors from her varied industry career. But her first long-term relationship was with her high school sweetheart David Cruz, with whom she was together until the mid-90s. After a short-lived marriage to waiter Ojani Noa and a "tumultuous" relationship with record producer Sean Combs, Jennifer next settled down with her former backup dancer Cris Judd.

Cris and Jennifer were married from September 2001 to January 2003, but before their divorce was finalized, the This Is Me... No w star had begun dating Ben Affleck. This romance ended in 2004, the same year Jennifer would go on to marry singer Marc Anthony , with whom she was married until 2014. But Jennifer and Ben would go on to rekindle their relationship in 2021, and married in July 2022 .

Jennifer has two children, twins Max and Emme , who she shares with her third husband Marc Anthony and co-parents in a blended family with her Batman star husband. Her twins were born in 2008.

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J.Lo’s Stardom Story: How Did Jennifer Lopez Get Famous?

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States , CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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1. jennifer lopez started her career as a dancer.

John Bauld from Toronto, Canada , CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

2. Her Breakout Role was in the 1997 Biopic “Selena”

3. j. lo’s debut album “on the 6” boosted her fame status.

4. Venture into Fashion, Fragrance, and Philanthropy

5. winning of numerous awards cemented her fame.

dvsross , CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

6. Jennifer Lopez became Famous for Her Versatility in Acting, Singing, and Entrepreneurship

7. her influence in the entertainment industry.

MTV International , CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

8. The Power of Talent, Hard Work, and Self-belief Pushed J. Lo to Success

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Kennedy is a clinician who is passionate about humanity, travel, and making a positive impact on lives. His passion for writing began back in college as he wanted to share his views with the world. He enjoys writing about science and nature, health, travel, cities, famous people, and mysterious murders. His writing style is entertaining and enlightening while giving you a fresh perspective on several topics.

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