Lopez, Jennifer

views updated May 29 2018

Jennifer Lopez

Singer, dancer, actress

For the Record

Selected discography

Sources

Jennifer Lopez appeared as an overnight sensation when she burst onto the entertainment scene in the mid-1990s. She was a talented, well-rounded modern woman, with pizzazz and good looks, plus singing, dancing, and acting accomplishments to her credit. A veteran of music videos, television, live stage shows, and commercial modeling, Lopez appeared in only a handful of minorfilm roles before she suddenly rocketed to stardom in the role of the murdered Tejano singing sensation Selena Quintanilla Perez. When Selena was released in theatres, Lopez emerged instantly as one of Hollywoods most popular leading ladies. She hailed from middle class roots in New York Citys Bronx borough, entered show business in her mid-teens, and appeared in miscellaneous roles as a background dancer, actress, and model before turning her sights to Hollywood. After she traveled the globe in musical revues and drifted through video and commercial work, she settled into steady employment in television work before starting a career as a film actress. She appeared in six motion pictures between 1995 and 1998 and then took a one-year hiatus to re-address her musical career. When Lopez released her first CD in 1998, the album sold over two million copies by the years end.

Jennifer Lopez was born on July 24, 1970, in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York. She was the second of three daughters born to David and Guadalupe Lopez, originally from Ponce, Puerto Rico. David Lopez worked as a data processing manager for an insurance company and his wife was a kindergarten teacher. Lopez and her sisters, Leslie (two years older) and Lynda (the youngest) attended Holy Family School. The Lopez household was filled with music, good food, and fun. Lopez was destined for stardom even as a youngstershe espoused Rita Moreno as her greatest heroine and took dancing lessons from the age of five. Over the years she studied ballet and jazz, flamenco, piano, and classical theater training. She also studied gymnastics, ran track, and played softball. Briefly while in high school, she entertained the possibility of becoming a professional beautician. Her parents meanwhile dreamed that their daughter might go to college and law school. Lopez succumbed instead to the lure of show business, despite her parents disappointment when she announced that she would forego college to pursue a career in the theater. Before long, Lopez was on her own and living wherever she could afford the rent. For a time she stayed in a dance studio in Manhattan and later moved into an apartment in Hells Kitchen.

Lopez made her first film appearance in the small role of Myra in My Little Girl in 1986. She secured her first steady acting role in 1988 when she embarked on a five-month European tour of a live stage production called

For the Record

Born July 24, 1970, in New York, NY; daughter of David and Guadalupe Lopez; married Ojani Noa, 1997; divorced, 1998.

Performed in musical shows on international tour; film actress, 1986; television work, dancing and acting, 1990-1993; films include My FamilyIMi Familia, 1995; The Money Train, 1995; Jack, 1996; Blood and Wine, 1997; Anaconda, 1997; U-Turn, 1997; Selena, 1997; Out of Sight, 1998; Antz (voice of Azteca), 1998; signed with Sony Records, 1998; debut release, On the 6, 1998.

Awards: American Latino Media Arts Award (ALMA) for Best Actress, 1998; ALMA Lasting Image Award, 1998; Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best Actress, 1998.

Addresses: Management c/o United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., 5thFloor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Record company Sony, 550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211, (212) 833-8000.

Golden Musicals of Broadway. She then toured Japan in a production of Synchronicity. Upon her return to the United States, she worked at dancing and modeling jobs, including appearances in music videos and commercials. Her dancing proficiency landed her a steady job in 1990 as a fly girl on the Fox television comedy show, In Living Color, with producer Keenan Ivory Wayans and choreographer Rosie Perez. Lopez quit In Living Colorin 1991 to accept a role in a television pilot for a short-lived series called South Central. With the demise of that show, she moved into the role of Melinda Lopez on a CBS series called Second Chances starring Connie Selleca. The show lasted one season, and the writers carried Lopezs Melinda role into a spin-off series called Malibu Road. Following the Malibu Road series Lopez appeared as a nurse in a made-for-television movie called Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. During the winter holidays in 1991 -92 and 1992-93, she performed in the live-stage production of Charles Dickenss A Christmas Carolai McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

By 1993 her stage and television careers were a matter of history. As an up-and-coming young dancer that year she performed in music videos, including Thats the Way Love Goes with Janet Jackson. Lopez was also seen in Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) & The Familys Been Around the World. By 1995 she had moved to Los Angeles with her boyfriend of nine years. She landed two feature film roles that year: as Maria in Gregory Navas My Family/Mi Familia, followed by the part of Grace Santiago in Joseph Rubens, Money Train with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Lopez received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for her role as Maria the Mexican immigrant in My Family/Mi Familia. The pace of Lopezs career accelerated rapidly with the acknowledgment. She appeared with Robin Williams in the 1996 release of Francis Ford Coppolas Jack, and the following year she appeared in the female romantic lead opposite Jack Nicholson in Blood & Wine. That same year moviegoers saw her as Terri Flores in the action/disaster feature, Anaconda, starring Jon Voight, and in 1997 she starred with Sean Penn in U-Turn.

A final film release in 1997 catapulted Lopez to stardom in what became her signature role as Selena Quintanilla Perez, the murdered Tejano singer in director Gregory Navas production of Selena. Amid concerns from backstage critics that Lopez didnt physically resemble the real Selena, Lopez set out to recreate the aura of the legendary singer. Lopez learned all that she could about her subject and then summoned her own gifts for dancing and singing. She danced and acted her way through the scenes of Selena, recreating the spirit and actions of the slain Latina superstar. Although Lopez lip-synched her way through the vocal score, she performed from the heart with a zest and fire that effectively depicted the life and times of the real Selena. For her work in Selena, Lopez received a Golden Globe nomination in 1998 for the best performance by an actress in a motion picture.

On the heels of the success of Selena, Lopez appeared in 1998 as a romantic interest with George Clooney in Out of Sight. Also that year she dubbed in the voice of Azteca, the worker ant in an animated cartoon feature film from DreamWorks, called Antz.

Lopez felt inspired, in part by her starring role in Selena, to respite from her whirlwind film career for one year, in order to tape a debut vocal album. She spent much of 1998 in the production of her CD, On the 6, and thus the multi-faceted performer added singing and songwriting to her already impressive acting and dancing credits. The CD, released by SonyRecords, evoked a variety of musical styles, including pop and rhythm and blues. According to Lopez, every song she does bears a Latino undertone. Lopez was apprehensive at first when the producers approached her to write a song for the album; she expressed concerns against expanding her professional ventures too rapidly. But Lopez relented and co-wrote he albums Should Have Never. Lopez developed the CD title, On the 6, by recalling the number of the subway train that she rode into Manhattan as a young girl. Lopezs platinum hit single, If You Had My Love, is heard on the albumthe song spent five weeks at number one on the music charts. The album itself sold over two million copies before the end of the first year of its release on Sonys Work Group/Columbia label. Lopezs frequent companion, Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) also contributed an original composition to one of the albums tracks. Also heard on the album is a duet between Marc Anthony and Lopez entitled,No me ames (You Dont Love Me), for which Lopez appeared in the music video in August of 1998.

Talent aside, Lopez established herself as a bona fide sex symbol very early in her career. It was a flattering concept, but she nonetheless had a difficult time escaping persistent remarks in the press regarding her trademark feature, a voluptuous backside. She was listed among the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997 and again in 1999 by People. Her conscientious commitment to rigorous physical fitness training is common knowledge around New York and Los Angeles, both cities she considers to be home. Additionally, she aspires to a dream of settling in Miami, Florida to raise a family.

Lopez was married very briefly to Ojani Noa, whom she met at Gloria Estefans restaurant, Larios on the Beach. Noa worked at the restaurant at the time while Lopez filmed herfeature movie, Blood and Wine, on location in Florida. Their brief, but romantic courtship lasted approximately one year, into the filming of Lopezs next film, Selena. When the filming was over Noa proposed to Lopez in front of the entire cast and crew of Selena. They married on February 22, 1997, but separated less than one year later and divorced in 1998. In retrospect Lopez regarded the marriage philosophically and acknowledged that her career contributed significantly to the break-up. Regardless, she intends to raise a family and will not sacrifice her career in the process. After the separation between Lopez and Noa, rumors persisted concerning Lopezs romantic inclinations. Media reports linked her with an endless string of eligible suitors, including her perennial collaborator, Sean Combs. After much speculation about the nature of their relationship, Lopez and Combs confirmed their romantic involvement by appearing hand-in-hand at the MTV Music Video Awards in September 1999. The two made headlines when they left Club New York on December 27, 1999, after a member of Combs entourage allegedly shot at three bystanders. Combs and two others were charged with criminal possession of a 9 mm handgun. One of the guns was found in the sport utility vehicle Combs and Lopez were riding in, but Combs denied the charges against him as 100 percent false. Lopez was not charged in the incident, but was questioned at length by police.

In 1998 Lopez received the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Lasting Image Award and the ALMA for best actress in Selena. Also for her portrayal of Selena, Lopez received the Lone StarFilm & Television Award for Best Actress. In the midst of soaring stardom she came into popular demand as a media personality. In 1994 she hosted Coming Up Roses, and in 1995 she hosted the NCLR Bravo Awards. Additionally in 1995, she was a presenter for the VI DA Awards, and she was a presenter, along with Combs, at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1999. Biographer Patricia J. Duncan said of Lopez, Her unique blend of beauty, talent, drive, and confidence have made her the hottest commodity in the film industry, and that will soon be true in the music industry as well.

Selected discography

On the 6 (includes If You Had My Love), Work Group/Columbia, 1999.

Sources

Books

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, Gale Research, Inc., 1998.

Duncan, Patricia J., Jennifer Lopez, St. Martins Paperbacks, New York, 1999.

Periodicals

Cosmopolitan, April 1997; March 1999.

Entertainment Weekly, December 1, 1995; October 9, 1998.

In Style, June 1, 1999.

Interview, April 1997.

People, May 12, 1997; May 10, 1999; September 13, 1999.

Online

Mr. Showbiz Celebrities: Jennifer Lopez Biography, http://mrshowbiz.go.com/people/jenniferlopez/content/bio.html (November 24, 1999).

Gloria Cooksey

Lopez, Jennifer: 1970—: Actor, Singer, Dancer

views updated Jun 11 2018

Jennifer Lopez: 1970: Actor, singer, dancer


Jennifer Lopez is what is known in the entertainment business as a "triple threat"she can dance, sing, and act. She was a dancing Fly Girl on the 1990s television show In Living Color, and got her break in her lead role as Selena, the 1997 film about the murdered Tejano pop star. She became the first Latina actress to have a lead role in a major Hollywood film since Rita Hayworth, and the highest-paid Latina actress ever. Her early films include Anaconda, U Turn, Jack, and Out of Sight.


While some actors endure embarrassing results when they try to make the leap from acting to singing, Lopez proved in 1999 that she was not one of them. Her debut album, On the 6, produced the hit "If You Had My Love" and sold over eight million copies. Lopez's name has become inescapable in the media. In 2001 Lopez became the first actress to have a film, the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner, and music album, her sophomore release, J.Lo, hit number one in the same week. Later that year, the success of the psychological thriller The Cell proved that Lopez's box-office power was worth her paycheck, valued in 2002 at over two million dollars per film. Not one to rest on her laurels, Lopez is constantly making progress toward her next goal. "I want everything. I want family. I want to do good work. I want love. I want to be comfortable," she said in a 1998 interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I think of people like Cher and Bette Midler and Diana Ross and Barbra Strei-sand. That's always been the kind of career I'd hoped to have. I want it all."

Lopez was born July 24, 1970 in the Bronx neighborhood of Castle Hill. She is the second of three daughters of David, a computer technician, and Guadalupe Lopez, a kindergarten teacher. Though Lopez's parents were born in the same Puerto Rican town, David and Guadalupe Lopez did not meet until they lived in Castle Hill. They were strict with their girls and instilled a strong work ethic in themno one in the family was allowed to miss a day of school, work, or church. "Our parents had a strong work ethicthere wasn't really any other way," Lynda Lopez told Rolling Stone. Lopez's parents also stressed assimilationthe need to speak English, to fit into the mainstream, to succeed. "Spanish was not something we spoke a lot of in the house," David Lopez told Rolling Stone. "They got that from their grandmothers." Though he worked nights throughout her childhood, Lopez idolized her father for working hard to provide for his family. "I'm a daddy's girl; he's the love of my life," she said in a 2001 interview with Rolling Stone 's Anthony Bozza. In 1998, after their kids were grown and gone, the Lopezes divorced.

At a Glance . . .

Born Jennifer Lopez on July 24, 1970, in Bronx, NY to David (a computer technician) and Guadalupe Lopez (a teacher); married Ojani Noa, 1997 (divorced 1998); married Cris Judd (a dancer), 2001.

Career: Actress, dancer, singer. Film appearances include My Family/Mi Familia, 1995; Money Train, 1995; Jack, 1996; Blood and Wine, 1997; Selena, 1997; Anaconda, 1997; U Turn, 1997; Out of Sight, 1998; Antz, 1998; The Cell, 2000; The Wedding Planner, 2001; Angel Eyes, 2001Enough, 2002; The Chambermaid, 2002; Gigli, 2003. Television appearances include "El Show de Cristina," 1989; "In Living Color," 1990; Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7, 1993; "Second Chances," 1993; "Hotel Malibu," 1994; "South Central," 1994; Janet Jackson: Design of a Decade 1986-1996, 1996; "TFI Friday," 1999; VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, 2000; MTV Video Music Awards 2000, 2000; "Parkinson," 2001; "Rove Live," 2001; MTV Video Music Awards 2001, 2001; Jennifer Lopez in Concert, 2001; Royal Variety Performance 2001, 2001; MTV Icon: Janet Jackson, 2001; 73rd Annual Academy Awards, 2001; USO Special for the Troops, 2002; Hello, He Lied & Other Truths From the Hollywood Trenches, 2002. Sound recordings include On the 6, and the single "If You Had My Love,"1999;J.Lo, and the singles "I'm Real" and "Love Don't Cost a Thing," 2001.

Addresses: Agent International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211.

Grew Up In Musical Household

There was always some kind of music on in the Lopez household. Guadalupe Lopez was a fan of many genres, including the girl groups from her own child-hoodthe Supremes, the Shirelles, and the Ronettes. She spent Sundays while her daughters were growing up listening to disc jockey Casey Kasem's Top Forty countdown. She often would gather her daughters to watch Barbra Streisand musicals and sing, or act out songs from West Side Story in their living room. David Lopez was a fan of doo-wop music, but salsa, meringue, and rock were also heard in the house. Lopez's sisters are also musicalLynda, her younger sister, is a radio disc jockey, VH1 VJ, and entertainment reporter on a New York morning television show, while her older sister Leslie sings opera. Because her parents were strict, Lopez spent much of what she called "the boyfriend years" in Rolling Stone sneaking around to meet up with first-love David Cruz, whom she remained with from the time she was 16 until she was 25. "I was always climbing out windows, jumping off roofs, and he was sneaking up," she said. "It was crazy."

Though father David Lopez sees talent in all of his girls, he acknowledged in Rolling Stone that "Jennifer is the one with the drive to put it all together. She was always very competitive. She's had that drive since she was a baby." Dance and singing lessons began for her at age five. She spent her entire academic career in Catholic school, and admits she still prays regularly. She was a driven student and natural athlete in gymnastics, softball, and tennis. She went out for the track team, though she had no experience. Her father feared that, new to the sport, she would be outclassed, but Lopez rose to the challenge and ended up competing nationally. "Basically, anything she wants to do, she'll be as successful as you can at it," sister Lynda Lopez told Rolling Stone. "That's the kind of person she is."


After she graduated high school, Lopez pursued her talent for dance. She split her time between her job at a law office, taking dance classes, and dancing in Manhattan clubs at night. Though she did notand still does notdrink alcohol, her parents disapproved of her working nights so far from home and feared she was associating with a potentially dangerous crowd. She moved out of the house and was able to pay her rent with occasional work as a dancer.


Landed Fly-Girl Gig

The aspiring dancer's first steady paycheck came when she landed a spot as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the Wayans brothers' sketch-comedy show In Living Color on the Fox television network. On the show, she and the other Fly Girls danced between comedy skits and when musical guests were featured. In Living Color was filmed in Los Angeles, so Lopez was uprooted from her New York home and forced to move to the West Coast, where she was "miserable," she told Rolling Stone. David Cruz moved there to be with her, and stayed for four years. With his support, Lopez was happy and better able to work, she told Rolling Stone. Lopez's stability during that time parlayed into the earliest successes of her career. She got television acting parts in the made-for-TV movie Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7 and on the series Second Chances and Hotel Malibu, but both were flops. She danced for Janet Jackson on tour and in Jackson's video for the popular song "That's the Way Loves Goes" in 1995.


Lopez broke onto the big screen in 1995, in the drama My Family/Mi Familia and opposite Wesley Snipes in the action film Money Train. She appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack, and the 1997 thriller Blood and Wine. However, the actress's first big break came when she secured the lead role in Selena, based on the true story of the slain Tejano pop singer's life. Lopez accepted the public marriage proposal of then-boyfriend Ojani Noa, a model-turned-restaurateur, at the wrap party for Selena in 1996 in San Antonio, Texas. The two were married in 1997, but divorced after just a year, unable to endure the pressures of Lopez's rapid rise to stardom. In two years, wrote Degen Pener in Entertainment Weekly, Lopez "rocketed from up-and-coming actress to Holly-wood's super-diva of 1998."


After Selena, Lopez had a steady stream of work. She played a documentary film director in the horror film Anaconda, about the world's largest and deadliest snake. She took a steamy role in Oliver Stone's 1997 film noir, U Turn, as a young woman who seduces and hires a drifter, played by Sean Penn, to murder her husband, played by Nick Nolte. Lopez's two-million dollar paycheck for role opposite George Clooney in Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight made Lopez the highest-paid Latina actress in Hollywood history. Lopez played Karen Sisco, a U.S. Marshal assigned to capture two escaped convicts, played by Clooney and Ving Rhames. She is first kidnapped by the duo, then is charged with tracking them to Detroit, where they are planning their next big heist. Her romantic notions ultimately interfere with her job as she becomes attracted to Clooney's character. Lopez's turn in the psychological drama The Cell, opposite Vince Vaughn, proved she could "open" a movie after the film became a box-office blockbuster.


Known for Curvaceous Physique

The word "callipygian" came into common usage as journalists struggled to describe Lopez's curvaceous backsidethe word is used to describe one as having shapely buttocks. Though she laughs at rumors that she has her body insured for one-billion dollars, Lopez is as heralded for her physical beauty as she is for her talents as singer, dancer, or actor. Once called "La Guitarra," for her guitar-shaped body, Lopez is the only woman in the world to have twice been voted number one in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women" list. She is a regular on People magazine's annual "50 Most Beautiful People In The World" list, and was voted to have the best female body in the British Celebrity Bodies magazine. At the 2000 Grammy Awards, jaws dropped when she showed up wearing a risqué, barely-there dress that "showed as much as a dress could possibly show without actually showing anything," according to Vanity Fair. Fans missed out on seeing Lopez's heavenly body in Antz, the 1998 animated film that featured only the actress's voice.

Once she had conquered Hollywood, Lopezknown as "J.Lo" and "La Lopez"made moves to fulfill her lifelong dream of singing. Many an actor has suffered the indignity of trying to rebuild a film career after a failed turn in the music industry. Such was not the case with Lopez. She spent a full year in the studio, working diligently on her debut album, On the 6, named for the train she used to take from her Bronx home to Manhattan. Built on Latin soul, pop, R&B, pop, and dance influences, the album sold over eight million copies and launched the popular single "If You Had My Love."


At the start of her career, Lopez had a rocky relationship with the media. She was reputed to be a difficult interview. One Hollywood public-relations firm declined to represent her, so bad was her reputation. She often was irritated or angry in interviews, and used them as an opportunity to lambaste everyone from actress Gwyneth Paltrow to former co-star Wesley Snipes. Over time, she softened that image, and learned to discuss only what she felt comfortable talking aboutwhich did not include her love life, the subject of much tabloid and media attention. "In this business," she told Anthony Bozza in Rolling Stone, "Your soul is so public and open and out there for everybody. There is no privacy. At the end of the day, you really have to fight to keep certain things sacred so that they survive."


Tangled With Law, Walked Down Aisle

Though she maintained for some time that she and hip-hop mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs were "just friends," she told Entertainment Weekly in 1998, the two went public with their romance in 1999. Her hard-earned good-girl image took some hits in December of 1999, when she was arrested with Combs after a shooting at a New York City nightclub. She was released after 14 hours, but Combs ultimately was tried for possession of a stolen gun. Combs's trial was scheduled to begin just a week before the release of Lopez's second album, J.Lo.


Lopez and Combs announced their breakup in 2001. At that time she was the first actress to have both a hit movie, The Wedding Planner, and album, J.Lo, at number one at the same time. The album was "far superior" to On the 6, according to Anthony Bozza in Rolling Stone, and its multi-platinum sales status was fueled by such singles as "Love Don't Cost a Thing," and "I'm Real." Lopez played a wedding planner in the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner opposite actor Matthew McConaughey. Lopez planned her own wedding in 2001, when she and dancer Cris Judd tied the knot in a small ceremony. Her third album, Jtotha L-O!: The Remixes, released in 2002, also reached platinum.


Selected filmography

My Family/Mi Familia, 1995.

Money Train, 1995.

Jack, 1996.

Blood and Wine, 1997.

Selena, 1997.

Anaconda, 1997.

U Turn, 1997.

Out of Sight, 1998.

Antz, 1998.

The Cell, 2000.

The Wedding Planner, 2001.

Angel Eyes, 2001.

Enough, 2002.


Selected discography

On the 6, Work/Sony, 1999.

J.Lo, Sony, 2001.

J to tha L-O!: The Remixes, 2002.

Sources

Periodicals

Cosmopolitan, March 1999, p. 202.

Entertainment Weekly, October 9, 1998, p. 28; January 7, 2000, p. 8.

In Style, June 1, 1999, p. 276.

Newsweek, December 20, 1999, p. 84; January 10, 2000, p. 58; January 29, 2001, p. 63.

People, May 10, 1999, p. 187; September 13, 1999, p. 71; March 13, 2000, p. 146; May 14, 2001, p. 88.

Redbook, January 2002, p. 58.

Rolling Stone, February 15, 2001, p. 44.

Time, February 5, 2001, p. 87.

Vanity Fair, June 2001, p. 166.


On-line

All Music Guide, www.amg.com

Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com

Rolling Stone, www.rollingstone.com


Brenna Sanchez

Lopez, Jennifer 1970(?)–

views updated May 14 2018

Lopez, Jennifer 1970(?)–

(J.Lo, J-Lo, Jennifer "J-Lo" Lopez)

PERSONAL

Full name, Jennifer Lynn Lopez; born July 24, 1970 (some sources cite 1969), in the Bronx, New York, NY; daughter of David (a computer specialist) and Guadalupe (a kindergarten teacher; maiden name, Rodriguez) Lopez; married Ojani Noa (an actor, model, and club manager), February 22, 1997 (divorced, 1998); married Cris Judd (a choreographer, dancer, and actor), September 29, 2001 (divorced, January 26, 2003); married Marc Anthony (a singer and actor), June 5, 2004; stepchildren: Arianna, Cristan, Ryan. Education: Studied dance; once enrolled at the Bernard M. Baruch College of the City University of New York. Religion: Roman Catholicism.

Addresses: Office—Nuyorican Productions, 1100 Glendon Ave., Suite 920, Westwood, CA 90024. Agent—International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Manager—The Firm, 9465 Wilshire Blvd., Sixth Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Publicist—Baker/Winokur/Ryder, 9100 Wilshire Blvd., Sixth Floor West, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Actress, singer, dancer, and producer. Nuyorican Productions, Westwood, CA, principal; worked as a model and appeared in commercials and print advertisements. Madre's (Cuban restaurant), Pasadena, CA, founder, 2002; creator of the perfumes Glow, 2002, Still, 2004, Miami Glow, 2005, and Live, 2005; creator of the fashion clothing line J-Lo by Jennifer Lopez, 2001, founder of the Sweetface Fashion Company, beginning 2001, and affiliated with JLO boutiques. Appeared in e-mail messages by Emazing. Honoree at the Noche de Ninos Gala, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, 2004. Worked at a law firm and a bank. Also known as J.Lo and J-Lo.

Awards, Honors: Independent Spirit Award nomination, best supporting female, Independent Features Project/ West, 1995, for My Family; Bravo Award nomination, outstanding actress in a feature film, National Council of La Raza, 1996, for Money Train and Jack; Lone Star Film and Television Award, best actress, Lasting Image Award, Imagen Foundation, Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actress in a motion picture—comedy or musical, and MTV Movie Award nomination, best breakthrough performance, all 1998, for Selena; ALMA Award, outstanding actress in a feature film, American Latin Media Arts awards, 1998, for Selena and Anaconda; Saturn Award nomination, best actress, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, and Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination, favorite actress—action/adventure, both 1998, for Anaconda; ALMA Award, outstanding actress in a feature film in a crossover role, and MTV Movie Award nominations, best female performance and (with George Clooney) best kiss, all 1999, for Out of Sight; Hollywood Film Festival Award nomination, actress of the year, 1999; MTV Music Video Award, best dance video, 2000, for "Waiting for Tonight"; Bambi Award, Hubert Burdia Media, 2000; ALMA Special Achievement awards, female entertainer of the year, 2000 and 2001; Blockbuster Entertainment Award, favorite actress—science fiction, Saturn Award nomination, best actress, MTV Movie Award, best dressed category, and MTV Movie Award nomination, best female performance, all 2001, for The Cell; ALMA Award nomination (with others), outstanding host of a variety or awards special, 2001, for The First Annual Latin Grammy Awards; named one of the top twenty entertainers of 2001, E! Entertainment Television; Teen Choice Award nomination (with Matthew McConaughey), 2001, choice film chemistry, and Blimp Award, favorite female movie star, Kids' Choice awards, 2002, both for The Wedding Planner; ALMA Award nomination, outstanding actress in a motion picture, 2002, for Angel Eyes; Teen Choice Award nomination, choice actress in a drama or action adventure film, 2002, for Enough; ALMA Award nomination, outstanding performance in a music, variety, or comedy special, 2002, for Jennifer Lopez in Concert; ShoWest Award, female star of the year, National Association of Theatre Owners, 2002; named one of the most intriguing people of 2002, People Weekly magazine; named to the Power 100 list, Premiere magazine, 2002 and 2003; Image Award, outstanding actress in a motion picture, National Association for the Advancement for Colored People, Teen Choice Award nominations, choice actress in a comedy film, choice movie liar, and (with Ralph Fiennes) choice movie liplock, and Blimp Award nomination, favorite movie actress, all 2003, for Maid in Manhattan; American Music Award, best pop-rock female artist, 2003; Teen Choice Award nomination, choice crossover artist from music to acting, 2003; Teen Choice Award nomination (with Richard Gere), choice movie dance scene, 2005, for Shall We Dance; Teen Choice Award nominations, choice actress in a comedy film and (with Jane Fonda) choice movie chemistry, 2005, for Monster-in-Law; named one of the twenty-five most influential Hispanics in America, Time magazine, 2005; platinum record certification, Recording Industry Association of America, for the single "If You Had My Love."

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Myra, My Little Girl, Hemdale, 1986.

Booker, Lambada, Warner Bros., 1990.

Grace Santiago, Money Train, Columbia, 1995.

The young Maria Sanchez, My Family (also known as East L.A., My Family, Mi Familia, and Cafe con leche), New Line Cinema, 1995.

Miss Marquez, Jack, Buena Vista, 1996.

Gabriela (Gabby), Blood and Wine, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1997.

Grace McKenna, U Turn (also known as U Turn—Ici commence l'enfer), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1997.

Selena Quintanilla-Perez (title role), Selena, Warner Bros., 1997.

Terri Flores, Anaconda, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1997.

Karen Sisco, Out of Sight, Universal, 1998.

Voice of Azteca, Antz (animated), DreamWorks, 1998.

Catherine Deane, The Cell, New Line Cinema, 2000.

Sharon Pogue, Angel Eyes, Warner Bros., 2000.

Mary Fiore, The Wedding Planner (also known as Wedding Planner—verliebt, verlobt, verplant), Columbia, 2001.

Marisa Ventura, Maid in Manhattan (also known as Made in New York), Columbia, 2002.

Slim Hiller, Enough, Columbia, 2002.

Ricki, Gigli (also known as Tough Love), Columbia/TriStar, 2003.

Gertrude Steiney, Jersey Girl, Miramax, 2004.

Paulina, Shall We Dance, Miramax, 2004.

Charlie, Monster-in-Law, New Line Cinema, 2005.

Jean Gilkyson, An Unfinished Life, Miramax, 2005.

Lauren, Bordertown, Capitol Films, 2006.

Puchi, El cantante (also known as The Singer and Who Killed Hector Lavoe?), Nuyorican Productions, 2006.

Bridge and Tunnel, New Line Cinema, 2006.

Some sources cite appearances in America's Darlings, New Regency Pictures/Storyline Entertainment, c. 2006; and as Sue Ellen Ewing, Dallas, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2007.

Film Producer:

Bordertown, Capitol Films, 2006.

El cantante (also known as The Singer and Who Killed Hector Lavoe?), Nuyorican Productions, 2006.

Reggaeton, 2007.

Film Work; Other:

Performer of songs that have appeared in films, television productions, and videos.

Television Appearances; Series:

Member of the Fly Girls dancers, In Living Color, Fox, beginning c. 1990.

Melinda Lopez, Second Chances, CBS, 1993–94.

Lucille, South Central, Fox, 1994.

Melinda Lopez, Hotel Malibu, CBS, 1994.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

(In archive footage) Herself, 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons, VH1, 2003.

(In archive footage) Herself, And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop, VH1, 2004.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Rosie Romero, Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7 (also known as Race against the Dark: The Crash of Flight 7), CBS, 1993.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Host, Coming Up Roses, CBS, 1994.

Herself, The Secret World of Antz, 1998.

Herself, Arista Records' 25th Anniversary Celebration, 1999.

Herself, The Latin Beat, ABC, 1999.

Herself, Mi gente! My People, 1999.

Host, 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll, VH1, 1999.

MTV Uncensored, MTV, 1999.

Herself, Greatest Rock & Roll Moments, VH1, 2000.

Herself, TRL Uncensored, MTV, 2000.

Host, 100 Greatest Pop Songs, MTV, 2000.

Herself, Jennifer Lopez in Concert, NBC, 2001.

Herself, MTV Icon: Janet Jackson, MTV, 2001.

Herself, MTV Snowed in 2001, MTV, 2001.

Herself, The Royal Variety Performance 2001, Independent Television (England), 2001.

Herself, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.

Herself, Tito Puente: The King of Latin Music, PBS, 2001.

Herself, TRL Super Bowl, CBS, 2001.

Puffy on Trial: Victory or No Way Out?, MTV, 2001.

Herself, American Bandstand's 50th Anniversary Celebration, ABC, 2002.

Herself, Boogie: Jennifer Lopez (also known as Boogie Special: Jennifer Lopez), 2002.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Herself, Hello, He Lied & Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches, American Movie Classics, 2002.

Herself, Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Arts and Entertainment, 2002.

Herself, Primetime Special Edition: Jennifer Lopez, ABC, 2002.

Herself, USO Special for the Troops (also known as For the Troops: An MTV/USO Special), MTV, 2002.

Herself, Ben & Jen: A Dateline Special, NBC, 2003.

Herself, 50 Sexiest Video Moments, VH1, 2003.

Herself, Fromage 2003, MuchMusic, 2003.

Herself, Jingle Ball (also known as Jingle Ball Rock), Fox, 2003.

Herself, The Stars' First Time … on Entertainment Tonight with Mary Hart, CBS, 2003.

Herself, VH1 All Access: Behind the Red Carpet, VH1, 2003.

Michael Jackson Number Ones, CBS, 2003.

(In archive footage) Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Kattan, NBC, 2003.

Herself, En nochebuena con los Lunnis y sus amigos, Television Espanola (Spain), 2004.

(In archive footage) Herself, 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs … Ever, VH1, 2004.

(In archive footage) Herself, Last Laugh '04, Comedy Central, 2004.

Herself, Maxim Hot 100, VH1, 2004.

Herself, Michael Jackson: The One, CBS, 2004.

(In archive footage) Herself, The N-Word, Trio, 2004.

The Record of the Year 2004, Independent Television, 2004.

Herself, Borrow My Crew, MTV, 2005.

Herself, Jennifer Lopez: Beyond the Runway, MTV, 2005.

(In archive footage) Herself, Showbiz Hissy Fits, Channel 4 (England), 2005.

Herself, Wendy Williams Is on Fire on the Red Carpet, VH1, 2005.

MTV's Iced Out New Year's Eve 2005, MTV, 2005.

Red Carpet Confidential, CBS, 2005.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

Host, The 1995 NCLR Bravo Awards, Fox, 1995.

Presenter, The VIDA Awards, NBC, 1995.

Presenter, The 69th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1997.

Presenter, 1998 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 1998.

Presenter, The 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards, VH1, 1998.

Presenter, The 70th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1998.

ALMA Awards, ABC, 1998.

1998 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1998.

Host and presenter, The 1999 ALMA Awards, ABC, 1999.

Presenter, The 41st Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1999.

Presenter, 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1999.

Presenter, The 1999 Teen Choice Awards, Fox, 1999.

Presenter, The 71st Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1999.

The Fifth Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Fox, 1999.

The 1999 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 1999.

The 1999 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 1999.

VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, VH1, 1999, 2000.

Host, The First Annual Latin Grammy Awards, CBS, 2000.

Presenter, Fifth Annual ALMA Awards, ABC, 2000.

Presenter, The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 2000.

Presenter, MTV Video Music Awards 2000, MTV, 2000.

Presenter, My VH1 Music Awards, VH1, 2000.

Presenter, The 27th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 2000.

MTV Europe Music Awards 2000, MTV, 2000.

2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Fox, 2000.

Presenter, The 58th Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 2001.

Presenter, The 73rd Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2001.

48 degres edicion de los premios Ondas, 2001.

MTV Video Music Awards 2001, MTV, 2001.

Second Annual Latin Grammy Awards, 2001.

The Teen Choice Awards 2001, Fox, 2001.

The 28th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 2001.

The 2001 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 2001.

2001 Top of the Pops Awards, BBC, 2001.

Presenter, The 74th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2002.

MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 (also known as MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 Barcelona), MTV, 2002.

MTV Video Music Awards 2002 (also known as VMAs 2002), MTV, 2002.

Presenter, 17th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, The WB, 2003.

Presenter, The 75th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2003.

(In archive footage) MTV Europe Music Awards 2003, MTV, 2003.

2003 Radio Music Awards, NBC, 2003.

Presenter, MTV Video Music Awards 2004, MTV, 2004.

Presenter, The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 2004.

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '04 (also known as Nickelodeon's 17th Annual Kids' Choice Awards), Nickelodeon, 2004.

The 47th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 2005.

Presenter, The 78th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2006.

Television Guest Appearances; Episodic:

One of the Fly Girls, Inside Edition, syndicated, 1990.

The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000.

"Jennifer Lopez: Waiting for Tonight," Making the Video, MTV, 1999.

TFI Friday (also known as Thank Four It's Friday), Channel 4 (England), 1999.

Guest host, Rock across America, VH1, 2000.

"Jennifer Lopez: Love Don't Cost a Thing," Making the Video, MTV, 2000.

Diary, MTV, 2000.

Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night Live '80, SNL, and SNL 25), NBC, 2000, 2001.

"Show n degres 244," Mundo VIP, 2001.

Parkinson, BBC, 2001.

Rove Live, Ten Network (Australia), 2001.

Verstehen Sie Spass?, 2001.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2001, 2006.

"Cannes Festival 2002," Leute heute, 2002.

"Jennifer Lopez," Rank, E! Entertainment Television, 2002.

"Jennifer Lopez," Revealed with Jules Asner, E! Entertainment Television, 2002.

"The 25 Most Powerful People in Entertainment," Rank, E! Entertainment Television, 2002.

Intimate Portrait: Jennifer Lopez, Lifetime, 2002.

The Oprah Winfrey Show (also known as Oprah), syndicated, 2002, 2004.

Total Request Live (also known as TRL and Total Request with Carson Daly), MTV, 2002, 2005.

(In archive footage) "It's Good to be Ben Affleck," It's Good to Be, E! Entertainment Television, 2003.

"Suuri Hollywood-elokuvaspesiaali," 4Pop, 2003.

"Wetten, dass …? aus Berlin," Wetten, dass …?, 2003.

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Independent Television (England), 2003.

Ben Affleck & Matt Damon: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 2003.

(In archive footage) Celebrities Uncensored, E! Entertainment Television, multiple episodes, beginning 2003.

Extra (also known as Extra: The Entertainment Magazine), syndicated, 2003.

(Uncredited) Mad TV, Fox, 2003.

(In archive footage) 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment (also known as E's "101"), E! Entertainment Television, 2003.

Project Greenlight 2, HBO, 2003.

Richard & Judy, Channel 4, 2003.

Tinseltown TV, International Channel, 2003.

"Jennifer Lopez," Famous, Arts and Entertainment, c. 2003.

(Archive footage) Love Chain, E! Entertainment Television, c. 2003.

Entertainment Tonight (also known as Entertainment This Week, E.T., ET Weekend, and This Week in Entertainment), syndicated, 2003, 2006.

(In archive footage) "Bodas recientes," Que bodas!, 2004.

"FYI: I Hurt, Too," Will & Grace, NBC, 2004.

"I Do," Will & Grace, NBC, 2004.

"Oh, No, You Di-in't," Will & Grace, NBC, 2004.

(In archive footage) El show de Cristina, multiple episodes in 2004.

Inside the Actors Studio, Bravo, 2004.

(In archive footage) 101 Biggest Celebrity Oops (also known as E's "101"), E! Entertainment Television, 2004.

The Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show and Late Show Backstage), CBS, 2004, 2005.

Live with Regis and Kelly, syndicated, 2004, 2005.

Top of the Pops (also known as All New Top of the Pops and TOTP), BBC, 2004, 2005, 2006.

(In archive footage) "Lo latino," La tierra de las 1000 musicas, 2005.

"Monster-in-Law," HBO First Look, HBO, 2005.

"The Newest Designer for Tommy Hilfiger Is …," The Cut, CBS, 2005.

"Wetten, dass …? aus Erfurt," Wetten, dass …?, 2005.

(In archive footage) CD:UK, Independent Television, 2005.

(In archive footage) Cinema mil, TV3 (Television de Catalunya, Spain), 2005.

Corazon de …, Television Espanola (Spain), 2005.

Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (also known as Ellen and The Ellen DeGeneres Show), syndicated, 2005.

Fashion Week Diaries, 2005.

(In archive footage) Getaway (also known as United Travel Getaway), Nine Network (Australia), 2005.

GMTV, Independent Television, 2005.

Magacine, 2005.

Matthew's Best Hit TV+, 2005.

(In archive footage) Silenci?, 2005.

Today (also known as NBC News Today and The Today Show), NBC, 2005.

The View, ABC, 2005.

(As Jennifer "J-Lo" Lopez) The Film Programme (also known as Film 2006), BBC, 2006.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Melinda Lopez, Second Chances, CBS, 1993.

Lucille, South Central, Fox, 1994.

Melinda Lopez, "The Bed, the Bride, and the Body," Hotel Malibu, CBS, 1994.

Television Executive Producer; Series:

South Beach, UPN, 2006.

Television Executive Producer; Specials:

Jennifer Lopez in Concert, NBC, 2001.

Jennifer Lopez: Beyond the Runway, MTV, 2005.

Stage Appearances:

A Christmas Carol, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, between 1991 and 1993.

Major Tours:

Golden Musicals of Broadway (revue), c. 1988.

Synchronicity (musical), Japanese cities, c. 1988.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Herself in music video "That's the Way Love Goes," Janet Jackson: Design of a Decade 1986/1996, A&M Video, 1996.

Herself, Inside "Out of Sight," Universal Studios Home Video, 1998.

(And executive producer) Herself, Jennifer Lopez: Feelin' So Good, Sony Music Entertainment, 2000.

Herself, Style as Substance: Reflections on Tarsem, New Line Home Video, 2000.

Herself, Jennifer Lopez: The Reel Me, Sony Music Entertainment, 2003.

Herself, More Than Enough, Columbia/TriStar, 2003.

"Siempre hace frio," Selena: Greatest Hits, EMI Latin, 2003.

Herself in music video "That's the Way Love Goes," From Janet, to Damita Jo: The Videos, EMI Distribution/Ventura Distribution, 2004.

Albums:

On the 6, The Work Group/Sony, 1999, other versions also released.

Official Interview CD, Megaworld, 2000.

Star Profile, Master Tone Records, 2000.

J.Lo, Epic, 2001, other versions also released.

J to tha L-O! The Remixes, Epic, 2002, other versions also released.

This Is Me … Then, Epic, 2002.

The Reel Me, Sony, 2003.

Rebirth, Sony, 2005.

Singles:

"Baila," 1998.

"Feelin' So Good," featuring Fat Joe and Big Pun, 1999.

"If You Had My Love," Sony Records, 1999.

"Waiting for Tonight," Work Group/ERG, 1999.

(With Marc Anthony) "No me ames," 1999.

"Let's Get Loud," 2000.

"Love Don't Cost a Thing," 2000.

(With Big Punisher) "It's So Hard," 2000.

"Ain't It Funny" (version one), 2001.

"Ain't It Funny" (version two remix), featuring Ja Rule, 2001.

"I'm Real" (version one), 2001.

"I'm Real" (version two remix), featuring Ja Rule, 2001.

"Play," 2001.

(With MTV Allstars/Artists against AIDS) "What's Going On?," c. 2001.

"Alive," 2002.

"It's Going to Be Alright," featuring Nas, 2002.

"Jenny from the Block," 2002.

"All I Have," featuring LL Cool J, 2003.

"Baby, I Love U," 2003.

"I'm Glad," 2003.

(With Ja Rule) "New York," c. 2004.

"Get Right" (version one), 2005.

"Get Right" (version two), featuring Fabolous, 2005.

"Hold You Down," featuring Fat Joe, 2005.

(With LL Cool J) "Control Myself," 2006.

Music Videos:

Janet Jackson, "That's the Way Love Goes," 1993.

Puff Daddy and the Family, "Been around the World," c. 1997.

"Baila," 1998.

"Feelin' So Good," featuring Fat Joe and Big Pun, 1999.

"If You Had My Love," 1999.

"Waiting for Tonight," 1999.

(With Marc Anthony) "No me ames," 1999.

"Let's Get Loud," 2000.

"Love Don't Cost a Thing," 2000.

(With Big Punisher) "It's So Hard," 2000.

Black Rob, "Dame espacio/Spanish Fly," 2000.

"Ain't It Funny" (version one), 2001.

"Ain't It Funny" (version two remix), featuring Ja Rule, 2001.

"I'm Real" (version one), 2001.

"I'm Real" (version two remix), featuring Ja Rule, 2001.

"Play," 2001.

(With MTV Allstars/Artists against AIDS) "What's Going On?" (version 2, concept video), c. 2001.

"Alive," 2002.

"It's Going to Be Alright," featuring Nas, 2002.

"Jenny from the Block," 2002.

"All I Have," featuring LL Cool J, 2003.

"Baby, I Love U," 2003.

"I'm Glad," 2003.

(With Ja Rule) "New York," c. 2004.

"Get Right" (version one), 2005.

"Get Right" (version two), featuring Fabolous, 2005.

"Hold You Down," featuring Fat Joe, 2005.

(With LL Cool J) "Control Myself," 2006.

WRITINGS

Albums:

On the 6, The Work Group/Sony, 1999, other versions also released.

J.Lo, Epic, 2001, other versions also released.

J to tha L-O! The Remixes, Epic, 2002, other versions also released.

This Is Me … Then, Epic, 2002.

The Reel Me, Sony, 2003.

Rebirth, Sony, 2005.

Singles:

"Baila," 1998.

"Feelin' So Good," featuring Fat Joe and Big Pun, 1999.

"If You Had My Love," Sony Records, 1999.

"Waiting for Tonight," Work Group/ERG, 1999.

(With Marc Anthony) "No me ames," 1999.

"Let's Get Loud," 2000.

"Love Don't Cost a Thing," 2000.

(With Big Punisher) "It's So Hard," 2000.

"Ain't It Funny" (version one), 2001.

"Ain't It Funny" (version two remix), featuring Ja Rule, 2001.

"I'm Real" (version one), 2001.

"I'm Real" (version two remix), featuring Ja Rule, 2001.

"Play," 2001.

"Alive," 2002.

"It's Going to Be Alright," featuring Nas, 2002.

"Jenny from the Block," 2002.

"All I Have," featuring LL Cool J, 2003.

"Baby, I Love U," 2003.

"I'm Glad," 2003.

(With Ja Rule) "New York," c. 2004.

"Get Right" (version one), 2005.

"Get Right" (version two), featuring Fabolous, 2005.

"Hold You Down," featuring Fat Joe, 2005.

(With LL Cool J) "Control Myself," 2006.

Wrote songs that have appeared in films, television productions, and videos.

Video Music:

Jennifer Lopez: Feelin' So Good, Sony Music Entertainment, 2000.

Jennifer Lopez: The Reel Me, Sony Music Entertainment, 2003.

Nonfiction:

Appeared in other books.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Hispanic Biography, Volume 1, Gale, 2002.

Contemporary Musicians, Volume 55, Thomson Gale, 2006.

Duncan, Patricia J., Jennifer Lopez, St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Furman, Leah, Jennifer Lopez, Chelsea House, 2001.

Johns, Michael-Anne, Jennifer Lopez, Andrews & McMeel, 1999.

Tracy, Kathleen, Jennifer Lopez, ECW Books, 2000.

Periodicals:

Billboard, November 27, 1999, p. 93; December 4, 1999, p. 22.

Blender, April, 2005, pp. 74-84, 86.

Cosmopolitan, March, 1999, pp. 202-205; June, 2002, pp. 54-55, 57-58.

Entertainment Weekly, October 9, 1998, pp. 28-31; January 7, 2000, pp. 8-9.

Femme Fatales, September 1, 2000, pp. 8-11.

Glamour, September, 2002, pp. 263-64.

GQ, September, 1996.

Harper's Bazaar, December, 2002, pp. 190-99.

Hello!, August 20, 2002, pp. 38-42.

Hollywood Latino, December 12, 2003, p. 61.

IFQ: Independent Film Quarterly, May, 2003, pp. 22-25.

InStyle, June 1, 1999, p. 276; August 1, 2004.

Interview, April, 1997, p. 50.

Ladies' Home Journal, January, 2003.

Movieline, October, 1996; February, 1998; February, 1999, p. 59.

New York Post, June 1, 1999.

Parade, December 8, 2002, pp. 4-7.

People Weekly, May 10, 1999, p. 187; September 13, 1999, pp. 71-74; January 1, 2000, pp. 84-85; March 13, 2000, p. 146; May 14, 2001, p. 88; June 24, 2002, p. 136; December 30, 2002, p. 106; July 26, 2004, p. 58; August 9, 2004, p. 54; January 17, 2005, p. 70; March 7, 2005, p. 66; September 26, 2005, p. 68.

Premiere, August, 1998, pp. 72-75, 99; February, 1999; August, 2000.

Reader's Digest, August, 2003.

Redbook, January, 2002, pp. 58-62.

Rolling Stone, February 15, 2001, pp. 44-50, 86, 88.

Talk, March, 2000.

Teen People, May, 2000, pp. 68-92; summer, 2000, p. 42.

Time, August 22, 2005, p. 45.

TV Guide, December 21, 2002, p. 13; February 21, 2004, p. 33.

UMM, fall, 2002, pp. 56-62.

Us, April, 1997.

US Weekly, October 15, 2001, pp. 40-41.

V, issue 38, 2005, p. 81.

Vanity Fair, June, 2001, p. 166.

Variety, August 2, 1999, p. 4.

W, October, 2001, pp. 238-40.

Electronic:

Jennifer Lopez, http://www.jenniferlopez.com, March 6, 2006.

Lopez, Jennifer

views updated May 21 2018

Jennifer Lopez

Singer

Jennifer Lopez appeared as an overnight sensation when she burst onto the entertainment scene in the mid-1990s. She was a talented, well-rounded modern woman, with pizzazz and good looks, plus singing, dancing, and acting accomplishments to her credit. A veteran of music videos, television, live stage shows, and commercial modeling, Lopez appeared in only a handful of minor film roles before she suddenly rocketed to stardom in the role of the murdered Tejano singing sensation Selena Quintanilla Perez. When Selena was released in theatres, Lopez emerged instantly as one of Hollywood's most popular leading ladies. She hailed from middle class roots in New York City's Bronx borough, entered show business in her mid-teens, and appeared variously as a background dancer, actress, and model before turning her sights to Hollywood. After she traveled the globe in musical revues and drifted through video and commercial work, she settled into steady employment in television work before starting a career as a film actress. Lopez appeared in six motion pictures between 1995 and 1998 and then took a one-year hiatus to re-address her musical career. When Lopez released her first CD in 1998, the album sold over two million copies by the year's end.

Jennifer Lopez was born on July 24, 1970, in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York. She was the second of three daughters born to David and Guadalupe Lopez, originally from Ponce, Puerto Rico. David Lopez worked as a data processing manager for an insurance company and his wife was a kindergarten teacher. Lopez and her sisters, Leslie (two years older) and Lynda (the youngest) attended Holy Family School. The Lopez household was filled with music, good food, and fun. Lopez was destined for stardom even as a youngster—she espoused Rita Moreno as her greatest heroine and took dancing lessons from the age of five. Over the years she studied ballet and jazz, flamenco, piano, and was trained in classical theater. She also studied gymnastics, ran track, and played softball. Briefly while in high school, she entertained the possibility of becoming a professional beautician. Her parents meanwhile dreamed that their daughter might go to college and law school. Lopez succumbed instead to the lure of show business, despite her parents' disappointment when she announced that she would forego college to pursue a career in the theater. Before long, Lopez was on her own and living wherever she could afford the rent. For a time she stayed in a dance studio in Manhattan and later moved into an apartment in Hell's Kitchen.

Lopez made her first film appearance in the small role of Myra in My Little Girl in 1986. She secured her first steady acting role in 1988 when she embarked on a five-month European tour of a live stage production called Golden Musicals of Broadway. She then toured Japan in a production of Synchronicity. Upon her return to the United States, she worked at dancing and modeling jobs, including appearances in music videos and commercials. Her dancing proficiency landed her a steady job in 1990 as a "fly girl" on the Fox television comedy show, In Living Color, with producer Keenan Ivory Wayans and choreographer Rosie Perez. Lopez quit In Living Color in 1991 to accept a role in a television pilot for a short-lived series called South Central. With the demise of that show, she moved into the role of Melinda Lopez on a CBS series called Second Chances starring Connie Selleca. The show lasted one season, and the writers carried Lopez's Melinda role into a spin-off series called Malibu Road. Following the Malibu Road series Lopez appeared as a nurse in a made-for-television movie called Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. During the winter holidays in 1991-92 and 1992-93, she performed in the live-stage production of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

Early Breaks

By 1993 Lopez's stage and television careers were a matter of history. As an up-and-coming young dancer that year she performed in music videos, including "That's the Way Love Goes" with Janet Jackson. Lopez was also seen with Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) & The Family in "Been Around the World." By 1995 she had moved to Los Angeles with her boyfriend of nine years. She landed two feature film roles that year: as Maria, a Mexican immigrant, in Gregory Nava's My Family/Mi Familia, followed by the part of Grace Santiago in Joseph Ruben's, Money Train with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Lopez received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for her role as Maria in My Family/Mi Familia. The pace of Lopez's career accelerated rapidly with the acknowledgment. She appeared with Robin Williams in the 1996 release of Francis Ford Coppola's Jack, and the following year she appeared in the female romantic lead opposite Jack Nicholson in Blood & Wine. That same year moviegoers saw her as Terri Flores in the action/disaster feature, Anaconda, starring Jon Voight, and in 1997 she starred with Sean Penn in U-Turn.

A final film release in 1997 catapulted Lopez to stardom in what became her signature role as Selena Quintanilla Perez, the murdered Tejano singer in Selena. Amid concerns from backstage critics that Lopez didn't physically resemble the real Selena, Lopez set out to recreate the aura of the legendary singer. For her work in Selena, Lopez received a Golden Globe nomination in 1998 for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture.

On the heels of the success of Selena, Lopez appeared in 1998 as a romantic interest with George Clooney in Out of Sight. Also that year she dubbed in the voice of Azteca, the worker ant in an animated cartoon feature film from DreamWorks, called Antz.

For the Record …

Born on July 24, 1970, in New York, NY; daughter of David and Guadalupe Lopez; married Ojani Noa, 1997 (divorced, 1998); married Cris Judd, 2001 (divorced, 2003), married Marc Anthony, 2004.

Performed in musical shows on international tour; film actress, 1986-; television work, dancing and acting, 1990-1993; films include My Family/Mi Familia, 1995; The Money Train, 1995; Jack, 1996; Blood and Wine, 1997; Anaconda, 1997; U-Turn, 1997; Selena, 1997; Out of Sight, 1998; Antz (voice of Azteca), 1998; The Cell, 2000; Maid in Manhattan, 2002; Gigli, 2003; Shall We Dance, 2004; Monster-in-Law, 2005; signed with Sony Records, 1998; debut release, On the 6, 1998; released album This Is Me … Then, Sony, 2002; released album Rebirth, Sony, 2005.

Awards: American Latino Media Arts Award (ALMA) for Best Actress, 1998; ALMA Lasting Image Award, 1998; Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best Actress, 1998; Lasting Image Award, Imagen Foundation, 1998; Image Award, National Association for the Advancement for Colored People (NAACP), 1998; ALMA for Best Actress in a Crossover Role, 1999; ALMA Special Achievement Award, 2000; ALMA for Female Entertainer of the Year, 2000; Bambi Award, Hubert Burda Media, 2000; American Music Award, Best Pop-Rock Female Artist, 2003.

Addresses: Record company—Sony, 550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211. Management—c/o United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., 5th Fl., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Agent—International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Website—Jennifer Lopez Official Website: http://www.jenniferlopez.com.

Lopez felt inspired, in part by her starring role in Selena, to respite from her whirlwind film career for one year, in order to record a debut vocal album. She spent much of 1998 in the production of her CD, On the 6, and thus the multi-faceted performer added singing and songwriting to her already impressive acting and dancing credits. The CD, released by Sony Records, evoked a variety of musical styles, including pop and rhythm and blues. According to Lopez, every song she does bears a Latino undertone. Lopez was apprehensive at first when the producers approached her to write a song for the album; she expressed concerns against expanding her professional ventures too rapidly. But Lopez relented and co-wrote that album's "Should Have Never." Lopez developed the CD title, On the 6, by recalling the number of the subway train that she rode into Manhattan as a young girl. Lopez's platinum hit single, "If You Had My Love," is heard on the album—the song spent five weeks at number one on the music charts. The album itself sold over two million copies before the end of the first year of its release on Sony. Lopez's frequent companion, Sean Combs, also contributed an original composition to one of the album's tracks. Also heard on the album is a duet between Marc Anthony and Lopez entitled, "No me ames (You Don't Love Me)," and for which Lopez appeared in the music video in August of 1998.

Love Life

Talent aside, Lopez established herself as a bona fide sex symbol very early in her career. It was a flattering concept, but she nonetheless had a difficult time escaping persistent remarks in the press regarding her "trademark" feature, a voluptuous backside. She was listed among the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 1997 and again in 1999 by People. Her conscientious commitment to rigorous physical fitness training is common knowledge around New York and Los Angeles, both of which cities she considers to be home.

Lopez was married very briefly to Ojani Noa, whom she met at Gloria Estefan's restaurant, Larios on the Beach. Noa worked at the restaurant at the time when Lopez was filming her feature movie, Blood and Wine, on location in Florida. Their brief, but romantic courtship lasted approximately one year, into the filming of Lopez's next film, Selena. When the filming was over Noa proposed to Lopez in front of the entire cast and crew of Selena. They married on February 22, 1997, but separated less than one year later and divorced in 1998. After the separation between Lopez and Noa, rumors persisted concerning Lopez's romantic inclinations. Media reports linked her with an endless string of eligible suitors, including her perennial collaborator, Combs. After much speculation about the nature of their relationship, Lopez and Combs confirmed their romantic involvement by appearing hand-in-hand at the MTV Music Video Awards in September 1999. The two made headlines when they left Club New York on December 27, 1999, after a member of the Combs entourage allegedly shot at three bystanders. Lopez was not charged in the incident, but was questioned at length by police. She accompanied Combs—who was ultimately acquitted—to the trial as a show of her support.

In the midst of soaring stardom Lopez came into popular demand as a media personality. She has been honored repeatedly by the entertainment industry, having received both the ALMA Lasting Image Award and the ALMA for best actress for Selena in 1998. Also for her portrayal of Selena, Lopez received the Lone Star Film & Television Award for best actress. In 2000 ALMA honored Lopez with a special achievement award, and that year she received the prestigious international Bambi Award from Hubert Burda Media of Europe. Additionally, her recording of the hit single "If You Had My Love" went platinum, and in 2001 she was again listed in People among the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

Business Ventures and "Bennifer"

By 2001, not only was Lopez was able to carry a film as a leading lady; she also started her own clothing company, JLO, her own perfume line Glow, and opened the Pasadena, California-based Cuban restaurant Madre's. That year she starred in two films, the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner and the thriller Angel Eyes. During the same weekend in 2001, Lopez had the number one album, J.Lo, and the number one movie, The Wedding Planner, a feat previously unheard of. Only a month after her break up with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Lopez struck up a relationship with back-up dancer Cris Judd that she met on the set for her video "Love Don't Cost a Thing." The couple married in September of 2001. Seven months later they broke up and finally divorced in January of 2003. Lopez picked herself up quickly and began dating actor Ben Affleck, whom she met while filming the 2003-released Gigli together. In November 2002, Lopez and Affleck, to whom the press referred to as "Bennifer," announced to the press that they were engaged and she released her third album, This Is Me … Then. Lopez forever immortalized her relationship with Affleck with the track "Dear Ben" and the appearance of the couple in the video for the hip-hop inflected song "Jenny From The Block."

2002 was a busy year in the press for Lopez; along with her new engagement and album, she released two films, the gripping Enough and the romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan. Lopez was media fodder 24 hours a day, and her album sales skyrocketed. "… She deftly blends streetwise hip-hop with enough old-school soul references to keep name checkers busy for hours," wrote Billboard about This Is Me … Then.

In 2003, the Affleck and Lopez movie Gigli released to poor sales and harsh reviews. The couple's relationship didn't withstand the pressure and the pair broke off their engagement in September of 2003. Months later Lopez began dating her old friend and singing partner Marc Anthony.

After her highly publicized relationship with Affleck ended, Lopez intended on keeping her love affair with Anthony as quiet as possible. "It's not fun to have your life playing out by people who don't know you, who are just guessing, and then a million other people in the world taking that as truth. It doesn't feel good. I don't expect people to sympathize. But that's why I made the change to be more private," Lopez told Blender magazine. And so, much to the surprise of invited "party" guests on June 5, 2004, Anthony and Lopez married—only four days after Anthony was legally divorced from his first wife. That winter, Lopez costarred with Richard Gere in a remake of the film Shall We Dance.

While Lopez saw over $300 million in sales in 2004 on her clothing line alone, her entrepreneurial ventures didn't get in the way of her recording a new record. In March of 2005, Lopez released the aptly titled Rebirth. "Rebirth is a straight-ahead dance album, alternating between sweet, breezy pop tunes … and hard-driving club tracks …" wrote All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Rebirth was moderately successful. In the spring of 2005, Lopez starred in the film Monster-in-Law with Jane Fonda.

Selected discography

On the 6, Work Group/Columbia, 1999.

J. Lo, Sony, 2000.

This Is Me … Then, Sony, 2002.

Rebirth, Sony, 2005.

Sources

Books

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, Gale Research, Inc., 1998.

Duncan, Patricia J., Jennifer Lopez, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1999.

Periodicals

Blender, April 2005, p. 78-86.

Cosmopolitan, April 1997; March 1999.

Entertainment Weekly, December 1, 1995; October 9, 1998.

In Style, June 1, 1999.

Interview, April 1997.

People, May 12, 1997; May 10, 1999; September 13, 1999; May 14, 2001.

Online

Billboard.com, http://www.billboard.com (May 26, 2005).

"Jennifer Lopez," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (May 26, 2005).

JLO Official Website, http://www.shopjlo.com/bio.php (May 26, 2005).

Lopez, Jennifer

views updated May 23 2018

JENNIFER LOPEZ

Born: Bronx, New York, 24 July 1970

Genre: Pop, R&B

Best-selling album since 1990: J.Lo (2001)

Hit songs since 1990: "If You Had My Love," "Waiting for Tonight," "Jenny from the Block"


Jennifer Lopez, actor/dancer/singer, and one of the most versatile and driven stars of the late 1990s, became Hollywood's highest-paid Latina actress the same year she released an album that entered the charts at number one. Lopez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is the most successful member of a 1990s wave of Latin pop stars that includes Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias. Her enduring success is due in large measure to her memorable videos, frequent appearances in films and tabloids, and careful recording production techniques that veil the limitations of her singing.

Lopez has pursued a career in acting since her childhood. At sixteen she appeared in the film My Little Girl (1986), though other early credits were limited to stage appearances. Her major break came in 1990, when she became a "Fly Girl" on In Living Color, a groundbreaking, controversial comedy show written primarily for African-American audiences. As a Fly Girl, Lopez's role was to dance between comedy sets and between commercial breaks. The dancers' gyrating moves brought hip-hop culture into mainstream American living rooms as Lopez became the group's most prominent face.

After Fox Television canceled In Living Color, Lopez appeared in a number of television shows and films. The most significant musically was her starring role in Selena (1997), a biopic about the murdered Latina pop sensation Selena Quintanilla. Lopez's notable star turn assured her emergence as the Latina star of the 1990s. A year later she starred alongside George Clooney in Out of Sight (1998), a well-regarded film that cemented her status as a serious actor in Hollywood.

Two years after Selena, Lopez launched her career as a pop star. Her first album, On the 6 (1999), was named after the train line that Lopez rode into Manhattan from the Bronx early in her career. The album was an immense success, yielding two singles, "If You Had My Love" and "Waiting for Tonight." "If You Had My Love" topped the American charts for over a month. The quality of On the 6, like that of Lopez's follow-ups, was boosted by high-profile producers such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Track Masters, and Emilio Estefan Jr. It also includes cameo raps by Fat Joe and Big Punisher and a duet with Marc Anthony on "No Me Ames." The album's combination of genresR&B, rap, and Latina popmakes it difficult to identify a distinctive Lopez sound, an advantage in her cannily commercial crossover strategy. Lopez has labeled her sound "Latin Soul."

The album's success coincided with the tabloid sensation over Lopez's relationship with Combs. A New York native like Lopez, Combs was responsible for producing some of the 1990s' most successful R&B and rap acts. On December 27, 1999, Combs and Lopez were together at a Manhattan nightclub when three people were injured during a shooting. Combs and Lopez were arrested with two members of Combs's entourage. Lopez was released almost immediately, and Combs was later acquitted, but the incident's fallout led Lopez to guard her public image more carefully.

Lopez's second album, J.Lo (2001), is essentially a remake of On the 6. The recording lacks the freshness and sense of play of its predecessor but still contains a few hit singles, most notably "Love Don't Change a Thing." The video from that track, along with hits such as "I'm Real" and "Play," helped the album reach the top spot on U.S. album charts. Lopez's climb to the top spot coincided with her starring role in the film The Wedding Planner (2001).

Let's Get Loud, Lopez's first musical television special, aired on NBC on November 25, 2001. It was the number one program in its time slot in the United States and also found a huge international audience. The forty-four-minute performance was recorded in Puerto Rico and featured all of Lopez's best songs performed with expensive props, elaborate costumes, and high-energy dancing.

This Is Me . . . Then (2002) finds Lopez attempting to get back to her musical roots as she belts out love songs to her fiancé, movie actor Ben Affleck. The record attempts to invoke the fun that marked On the 6, but it lacks that recording's marriage of edgy production and pop surfaces. The first single from the album, "All I Have," featuring rapper LL Cool J, was a smash international hit and a popular video. Like her previous album, the release of This Is Me . . . Then coincided with the premiere of Maid in Manhattan (2002), a successful movie starring Lopez. Other tracks on This Is Me . . . Then such as "Jenny from the Block," "I'm Glad," and "Still" made less of an impression on listeners and fans.

Jennifer Lopez emerged in the mid-1990s as a promising actor and dancer. Her career as a singer started in 1999 and quickly propelled her to celebrity heights never achieved by a U.S. Latina performer. Her music and sexually charged videos capture what so many fans find captivating about Lopez: her combination of sweet soulfulness and Latin urban rhythms.

Spot Light: On the 6

Jennifer Lopez once described her sound as "Latin Soul," but, at their best, Lopez's pop albums draw on a wider, distinctly 1990s range of influences. On the 6, her first and best album, is a highly-polished mix of ballads, raps, high-energy dance songs, and rhythmically dense "tropical remixes." Although Lopez takes writing credits on a few tracks, On the 6, like all her subsequent recordings, features an all star lineup of writers and producers, including Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Gloria Estefan, and Emilio Estefan, Jr. A few tracks feature lyrics sung in Spanish to Latin rhythms. Lopez's music is at its best when her songs are upbeat and soar beyond the limits of her passable voice. The smash hit "Waiting for Tonight," has remained a staple on dance floors. It begins with Latin-inspired drumming and soon takes off into an infectious and updated disco beat. Less successful are Lopez's ballads such as "Should've Never" and "Could This Be Love." On these tracks her thin vocals only expose the songs' sugary, trite lyrics. Nevertheless, On the 6 remains an example of 1990s pop at its most infectious and versatile.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

On the 6 (Work, 1999); J.Lo (Epic, 2001); This Is Me . . . Then (Epic, 2002); J to Tha L-O!: The Remixes (Epic, 2002).

SELECTIVE FILMOGRAPHY:

My Little Girl (1986); Selena (1997); Out of Sight (1998); The Wedding Planner (2001); Maid in Manhattan (2002).

WEBSITE:

www.jenniferlopez.com.

shawn gillen

More From encyclopedia.com