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Early life
Lopez was born and grew up in the South Bronx, New York to Puerto Rican
parents Guadalupe Rodríguez, a kindergarten teacher, and David Lopez, a
computer specialist. She has two siblings, Lynda and Leslie. Lopez spent
her entire academic career in Catholic schools. She financed singing and
dancing lessons for herself from the age of 19. After attending Baruch
College for one semester, Lopez divided her time between working in a
legal office, dance classes, and dance performances in Manhattan night
clubs. After months of auditioning for dance roles, Lopez was selected
as a dancer for various rap music videos, a 1990 episode of Yo! MTV
Raps, and as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block and their
performance of their song "Games" for the American Music Awards in 1991.
After being rejected twice, Lopez gained her first regular high-profile
job as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the television comedy program In Living
Color in 1990. Soon after, Lopez became a backup dancer for Janet
Jackson and made an appearance in her 1993 video "That's the Way Love
Goes".
Film and television
Lopez appeared on the short-lived television programs South Central,
Second Chances, and Hotel Malibu, and the made-for-television film
Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. Lopez broke into the big
screen in the 1995 drama My Family and then appeared opposite Wesley
Snipes in the action film Money Train. Lopez has played roles in Francis
Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams, and the 1997
thriller Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson. Lopez played the lead role
in the 1997 film Selena for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe
Award for "Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" in 1998. She
became the first Latin actress to get paid $1 million or more for a film
role. Some of her other critically-acclaimed films include Out of Sight,
The Cell, An Unfinished Life, and Shall We Dance?. Two independent films
produced by Lopez were well-received at film festivals: El Cantante at
the Toronto International Film Festival, and Bordertown at the Brussels
film festival. Other modestly successful films include The Wedding
Planner, Maid in Manhattan, Monster-in-Law, and Enough. Gigli, however,
would be a critical and commercial disappointment. In August 2007, Lopez
collaborated on the feature film, El Cantante, with her husband
singer-actor Marc Anthony. The film is in English, with a creative use
of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics.
In April 2004, Lopez guest starred in the sixth season finale of Will &
Grace, playing herself. This was the highest-rated episode of the series
since Elton John's appearance in 2002, and Lopez appeared again in the
seventh season's opening episode. In May 2006, MTV gave the greenlight
on her executively-produced reality show, DanceLife. The show followed
the lives of six aspiring dancers as their struggle to make it in the
competitive world of professional dance. Lopez, who took an active role
in selecting the show's participants, made cameo appearances over the
course of the season and the show's eight-episode run which began on
January 15, 2007.
Lopez made an appearance as a mentor on American Idol on April 10, 2007.
She is the executive producer of a miniseries in Univisión. The
Miniseries will be named after her CD "Como Ama Una Mujer". It will
premiere on October 30, 2007 at 10:00 on Univisión. Christian Borrero
will be acting in it along with Adriana Cruz.
Box office standing, record sales and wealth
Lopez is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and the
highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood history, though she's never had
a film grossing over $100 million in the U.S. Lopez appeared in the 2007
Guinness World Records as the most powerful actress. She was on the The
Hollywood Reporter's list of the top ten actress salaries in 2002, 2003,
and 2004. She received $15,000,000 for her role in Monster-in-Law. Her
top-grossing film domestically is Maid in Manhattan which grossed
$94,011,225, and her most successful international film, Shall We
Dance?, grossed $112,238,000 at the international box office.
Domestically, Shall We Dance? grossed $57,890,460 and a total of
$170,128,460 worldwide.
Wealth
Lopez has sold over 53 million records worldwide. Lopez made the 2007
Forbes magazine's list of The 20 Richest Women In Entertainment, ranking
ninth. Her wealth is estimated to be $110 million.
Music career
On the 6 (1999)
Main article: On the 6
Lopez's debut album On the 6, a reference to the 6 subway line she used
to take growing up in Castle Hill was released on June 1, 1999, and
reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. The album featured the
multi-week Billboard Hot 100 number-one lead single, "If You Had My
Love",, as well as the top ten hit "Waiting for Tonight". The album also
featured a Spanish language, Latin-flavored duet "No Me Ames" with Marc
Anthony (who later would become her husband.) Though "No Me Ames" never
had a commercial release, it reached number one on the U.S. Hot Latin
Tracks. On the 6 featured guest artists such as Big Pun and Fat Joe on
the track "Feelin' So Good", which had moderate success on the Billboard
Hot 100. "Let's Get Loud", the final single, earned Lopez a Grammy Award
nomination in the "Best Dance Recording" category in 2001 Grammy Awards.
"Waiting for Tonight" was nominated for the same category the previous
year. "No Me Ames" received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy
Awards — "Best Pop album by a Duo or Group with Vocal" and "Best Music
Video". The album has sold 8 million copies to date.
J. Lo (2001)
Main article: J. Lo (album)
Lopez's second album, J. Lo, was released on January 23, 2001 and
debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. When her film The Wedding
Planner achieved number one shortly after, Lopez become the first
actress-singer to have a film and an album at number one in the same
week. The lead single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", was her first
number-one single in the United Kingdom and took her into the top five
on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. She followed it up with "Play" which gave
her another top twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number
three in the UK. Her next two singles were "I'm Real" and "Ain't It
Funny" which were quickly rising up the charts. To capitalize on this,
Lopez asked The Inc. Records (then known as Murder Inc.) to remix both
songs, which featured rap artists Ja Rule (on both) and Caddillac Tah
(on the "Ain't It Funny" remix). Both remixes reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks. She re-released J. Lo on her
thirty-second birthday with the remix of "I'm Real" as a bonus track.
Also, "Si Ya Se Acabó" was released in Spain, due to the success "Que
Ironia". The album has sold 12 million copies to date.
J to tha L-O!: The Remixes (2002)
Main article: J to tha L-O!: The Remixes
Following the success of the re-release of J. Lo, Lopez decided to
devote an entire album to the remixing effort, releasing J to tha L-O!:
The Remixes, on February 5, 2002. This album debuted at number one on
the Billboard 200, becoming the first remix album in history to debut at
the top on the chart. Featured artists on J to tha L-O!: The Remixes
included P. Diddy, Fat Joe, and Nas, and the album included rare dance
and hip hop remixes of past singles. It is the third all-time
biggest-selling remix album in the world, after Michael Jackson's Blood
on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (1997) and Madonna's You Can
Dance (1987). The album has sold 3 million copies.
This Is Me... Then (2002)
Main article: This Is Me... Then
On November 26, 2002, Lopez released her third studio album, This Is
Me... Then, which reached number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned
four singles: "Jenny from the Block" (featuring Jadakiss and Styles P),
which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100; "All I Have"
(featuring LL Cool J), which spent multiple weeks at number one; "I'm
Glad"; and "Baby I Love U!". The album included a cover of Carly Simon's
1978 "You Belong to Me". It performed well on the charts, selling over 3
million copies in the United States alone and 7 million world wide.
The video for "I'm Glad" recreated scenes from the 1983 film Flashdance,
leading to a lawsuit over copyright infringement, which was later
dismissed.
Rebirth (2005)
Main article: Rebirth (Jennifer Lopez album)
After a year away from the music scene, Lopez released her fourth studio
album, Rebirth, on March 1, 2005. Although debuting and peaking at
number two on the Billboard 200, the album quickly fell off the charts.
It spawned the hit "Get Right", which reached the top fifteen in the
U.S. and became her second Platinum hit (after "If You Had My Love").
"Get Right" was also successful in the UK, becoming her second
number-one single there. The second single, "Hold You Down", which
featured Fat Joe, reached number sixty-four on the U.S. Hot 100; it
peaked at number six in the UK and ascended to the top twenty in
Australia. Another song, "Cherry Pie", was slated for a release in late
2005, but the plans to make a video were cancelled as the album sales
were definitely too weak and the promotion budget exceeded. It was
released to radio stations in Spain. Rebirth was certified Platinum in
the U.S. by the RIAA. Nevertheless, Lopez was featured on LL Cool J's
single "Control Myself", which was released on February 1, 2006. It
reached number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the
UK Singles Chart. It was Lopez's first U.S. top ten hit in three years
and has sold 3 million copies world wide.
Como Ama Una Mujer and Brave (2007)
Main article: Como Ama una Mujer
Main article: Brave (Jennifer Lopez album)
Lopez officially released her first full Spanish-language album, called
Como Ama una Mujer, on March 27, 2007 in the U.S. and March 23, 2007 in
Europe. Her husband, singer Marc Anthony, produced the album with
Estefano, except for "Qué Hiciste", which Anthony co-produced with Julio
Reyes. The album peaked at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200, number
one on the U.S. Top Latin Albums (for four straight weeks), number one
on the U.S. Latin Pop Albums (for seven straight weeks), and number one
hundred and thirty-one in the UK. The album did well in Europe peaking
at number three on the albums chart, mainly due to the big success in
countries like Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Greece,
Germany, Austria, and Portugal. The lead single, "Qué Hiciste" (Spanish
for "What Did You Do"), was officially released to radio stations in
January 2007. Since then, it has peaked at eighty-six on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Latin Songs and the Hot
Dance Club Play. It also went top ten on the European chart. The video
for the song was the first Spanish-language video to peak at number one
on MTV's Total Request Live daily countdown. The second single released
is called "Me Haces Falta" and the third is "Por Arriesgarnos".
Just over six months later, on October 9, 2007, Lopez released her fifth
English studio album (sixth studio album overall). She collaborated with
producers Midi Mafia, J. R. Rotem, Lynn and Wade and Ryan Tedder, with
Rotem working on some tracks with writing partner Evan "Kidd" Bogart.
Earlier, on August 26, 2007, ABC premiered a promo for the fourth season
of Desperate Housewives, featuring a snippet of the song "Mile In These
Shoes". "Do It Well" was released as the lead single and reached the top
20 in many countries. "Hold It, Don't Drop It" was released as the
second single in Europe/UK only. "Brave" was confirmed as the third
single in December, however, it was not said if it would be released in
the United States. The video has been shot by 'Que Hiciste' director,
Michael Haussman.
Tour
Billboard Magazine reported, on July 24, 2007, that Jennifer Lopez and
Marc Anthony would "co-headline" a worldwide tour called Juntos en
Concierto starting in New Jersey on September 29. Tickets went on sale
August 10. The tour was a mix of her current music, older tunes and
Spanish music. In a later press release, Lopez announced a detailed
itinerary. The tour launched September 28, 2007 at the Mark G. Etess
Arena and ended on November 7, 2007 at the American Airlines Arena in
Miami, Florida.
Business
Lopez launched a clothing line in 2003. Named JLO by Jennifer Lopez, the
line included different types of clothing for young women, including
jeans, T-shirts, coats, belts, purses, and lingerie, a jewelry line, and
an accessory line that includes hats, gloves, and scarves. Lopez
participated in the Louis Vuitton Winter 2003 campaign. In 2005, she
launched a new clothing line called Sweetface. In late 2007, Lopez
retired JLO by Jennifer Lopez and launched a new juniors' line called
JustSweet. Her fashion lines have featured at many New York Fashion Week
events.
Lopez's frequent use of animal fur in her clothing lines and personal
wardrobe has brought the scorn of people concerned with animal rights.
At the Los Angeles premiere of Monster-in-Law, more than one hundred
protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) held
a demonstration to highlight their concerns. Lopez told a radio DJ she
was open to being educated on the topic.
Jennifer Lopez on the cover of People en Español's "The 100 Most
Influential Hispanics" 2007 issue.
Jennifer Lopez on the cover of People en Español's "The 100 Most
Influential Hispanics" 2007 issue.
On April 12, 2002, Lopez opened a Cuban restaurant in the South Lake
district of Pasadena, California named Madre's. A media sensation was
creating when during a press shoot for the fancy restaurant, a
mysterious man appeared out of the sidelines and gave Lopez a floral
arrangement from Ben Affleck, even as then-husband Cris Judd stood next
to her. Lopez was widely criticized for what appeared to be infidelity
on her part.
Lopez has ventured in the perfume industry, with her debut "Glow by J.Lo"
which broke numerous records in sales. In October 2003, Lopez introduced
a perfume called "Still". Before launching another completely new
fragrance, she revisited 2002 "Glow" by creating a limited edition
spin-off entitled "Miami Glow by J.Lo", in homage to her adopted
hometown of Miami. Around the same time, Lopez came up with a "Glow"
body line, which featured different body lotions and bronzers. For the
Christmas season of 2005, she launched another fragrance, "Live by
Jennifer Lopez". Most recently, for 2006 Valentine's Day, "Miami Glow"
was replaced by yet another "Glow" spinoff — "Love at First Glow by J.Lo".
Her latest fragrance is called "Live Luxe" and was released in August
2006, with "Glow After Dark" following its release in January 2007. She
is expected to release another perfume called "Desire" in 2007.
Lopez owns a film and television production company called Nuyorican
Productions which she co-founded with her manager Benny Medina. Dancer
and ex-husband Cris Judd once had a stake in the company when he and
Lopez were still married.
Lopez is a spokesperson for Lux shampoo in Japan, appearing in the
product's television commercials.
Lopez has been recognized by People en Español magazine as both the
cover subject for the "50 Most Beautiful" issue in 2006 and the "100
Most Influential Hispanics" issue in February 2007.
Relationships
Ojani Noa
Lopez's first marriage was to Cuban-born Ojani Noa on February 22, 1997.
Lopez met Noa while he worked as a waiter at a Miami restaurant. They
divorced in January 1998. Lopez later employed Noa as the manager of her
Pasadena restaurant Madre's in April 2002, but he was fired in October
2002. After Noa sued Lopez over the termination, they drew up a
confidentiality agreement. In April 2006, Lopez sued to prevent her
first husband, Noa, from publishing a book containing personal details
about their short marriage, contending it violated their confidentiality
agreement.
In August 2007, a court-appointed arbitrator issued a permanent
injunction forbidding Ojani Noa from "criticizing, denigrating, casting
in a negative light or otherwise disparaging" Jennifer Lopez. She was
awarded $545,000 in compensatory damages, which included nearly $300,000
in legal fees and almost $48,000 in arbitration costs. Noa was also
ordered to hand over all copies of materials related to the book to
Lopez or her attorney.
Sean Combs
Lopez next had a two-and-a-half-year relationship with hip hop performer
Sean Combs. On December 27, 1999, Lopez and Combs were at Club New York,
a midtown Manhattan nightclub, when gunfire erupted between Combs'
entourage and another group. Lopez and Combs were being driven away from
the scene when they were chased and stopped by the police. A stolen gun
was found in the front seat of their vehicle.Lopez was charged with
felony gun possession, but the charges were dropped, as she was riding
in the back seat at the time. Lopez terminated her involvement with
Combs shortly thereafter, and Combs reconciled with Kim Porter, mother
of his three children.
Cris Judd
Her second marriage was to her former backup dancer, Cris Judd. She met
Judd while filming the music video for her single "Love Don't Cost a
Thing." The two were married on September 29, 2001, at a home in a Los
Angeles suburb. Their marriage effectively ended in June 2002, when
Lopez began publicly dating Ben Affleck. They were officially divorced
in January, 2003.
Ben Affleck
Lopez's relationship with actor Ben Affleck was highly publicized, with
the media dubbing them "Bennifer". Lopez announced her engagement to
Affleck in November 2002, after Affleck gave her a six-carat pink
diamond ring worth a reported $1.2 million. Lopez promised interviewers
that Affleck was indeed "the one", and that they would soon have a
family. The marriage, planned for September 14, 2003 in Santa Barbara,
California, was called off just hours before the event. During the week
before the scheduled nuptials, Affleck had been seen by press carousing
at a strip club in Vancouver with friends. The media blitz intensified
when it was Lopez's own sister who called in live radio to tell Lopez
where her fiancé had been the previous night. Lopez would only respond
by saying it was a terrible way to begin the day, finding out about
Affleck's behavior in that manner. Publicists announced a permanent
split on January 20, 2004. Affleck has refused to speak of his
relationship with Lopez, only citing intense media attention as the
cause of the break-up. Their relationship was parodied on the South Park
episode "Fat Butt and Pancake Head", which aired on April 16, 2003.
There was a mild media furor as to whether Lopez would give Affleck back
his ring after the break-up. Lopez did return it and it was discreetly
placed for sale at the original jewelers. Affleck has since married
actress Jennifer Garner on July 1, 2005 and they have a daughter,
Violet, born on December 1, 2005.
Marc Anthony
Lopez and Marc Anthony at the 2006 Time 100 gala event, as covered by
the vlog Rocketboom.
Lopez and Marc Anthony at the 2006 Time 100 gala event, as covered by
the vlog Rocketboom.
Shortly after her break-up with Affleck, Lopez was seen out with singer
Marc Anthony, a long-time friend she had worked with in music videos.
They had briefly dated in the late '90s, before his first marriage and
her second one. Lopez and Anthony were recording a duet together in
early 2004, for Lopez's then-upcoming film Shall We Dance?. He had
separated for the second time, in October 2003, from his first wife, the
former Miss Universe, Dayanara Torres, with whom he had two young
children. Lopez and Anthony married in a quiet home wedding on June 5,
2004, less than a week after his divorce from Torres was finalized on
June 1. On the morning of the wedding, however, the media was tipped off
and circled her backyard in helicopters. Photographs, alerting the rest
of the world, soon followed. Reports fueled rumors that Lopez was
pregnant but this was not the case.
Lopez's guests had been invited to an "afternoon party" at Lopez's house
and had not been made aware that they were actually going to her
wedding. The couple had planned not to publicize their marriage early
on, allowing more privacy and time together in an otherwise intrusive
environment. Days after the wedding, Anthony refused to comment on their
marriage during interviews which were scheduled earlier to promote a new
album "Amar Sin Mentiras" (To Love Without Lies). In February 2005,
Lopez confirmed the marriage, and added that "everyone knows. It's not a
secret". A few months later, Anthony's daughter, Ariana, appeared at the
end of Lopez's music video "Get Right" as her little sister. Regarding
his marriage and family life, Anthony maintains a private and sometimes
defensive stance with the media, which has influenced Lopez to set some
boundaries with interviewers.
Scientology
It was reported that Lopez and Anthony were taking professional business
meetings at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre in Hollywood,
California, in late 2006. It was also rumored that Lopez and Anthony
became Scientologists during that period with the help of Angelo Pagan,
the husband of "King of Queens" actress and Scientologist Leah Remini.
Just prior to those reports, Lopez said to NBC, "I'm not a
Scientologist, I was raised Catholic. But it's funny the way people come
at it. To me it's so strange. These are some of the best people I've
ever met in my life." She added, "My dad has been a Scientologist for 20
years. He's the best man that I know in my life and so, it's weird to me
that people want to paint it in a negative way."
Pregnancy
Lopez confirmed on November 7, 2007 that she is expecting her first
child with husband Marc Anthony, although she did not mention when she
is due to give birth. The announcement ended months of speculation over
the pregnancy.
Human rights advocacy
On February 14, 2007, Lopez received the Artists for Amnesty
International award "in recognition of her work as producer and star of
Bordertown, a film exposing the ongoing murders of hundreds of women in
the border city of Juárez, Mexico". Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos
Horta presented the award to Lopez at the Berlin International Film
Festival. She also received special recognition and thanks from Norma
Andrade, co-founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C. ("May Our
Daughters Return Home, Civil Association"), an organization consisting
of mothers and families of the murdered women of Juárez. |
