Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez (born 24.7.1969)

Jennifer Lopez (often referred to as J.Lo) is an American singer, actress and record producer.

Jennifer Lopez: Childhood

Jennifer Lopez was born and raised in the Bronx area of New York City. Her parents, Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez were of Puerto Rican descent and she was raised as a Catholic, attending Catholic schools such as Preston High School.

At the age of 19, Jennifer Lopez began to pay for her own dancing lessons and vocal coaching and eventually started dancing in Manhattan nightclubs, whilst also working in a legal office. She auditioned for a number of dancing roles, including rap music videos, working as a dancer for New Kids on the Block and an episode of Yo! MTV Raps. In 1993, Lopez appeared as a dancer in Janet Jackson's 'That's The Way Love Goes' and secured work as her regular backing dancer.

Jennifer Lopez: Show-business career

Jennifer Lopez's early forays into acting included appearances on South Central, Second Chances and Hotel Malibu. Her film debut came with 1995's My Family, which was followed with appearances alongside Wesley Snipes in Money Train and opposite Robin Williams in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Jack. In 1997, she appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in Blood and Wine.

The same year, Jennifer Lopez was nominated for the Best Actress Golden Globe award for her role in Selena. She went on to appear in El Cantante, which was well received at the Toronto International Film Festival and Bordertown, which did well at the Brussels film festival.

Lopez then went on to make a number of successful, high profile films, including The Wedding Planner (which co-starred Matthew McConaughey), Maid in Manhattan (in which she starred opposite Ralph Fiennes) and Monster-In-Law (which starred Jane Fonda).

Jennifer Lopez' career and reputation were damaged, however, upon the release of Gigli. The film co-starred her lover at the time, Ben Affleck, as well as Christopher Walken and Al Pacino. The film was universally panned by film critics and under-performed at the box office. Her most successful film was Shall We Dance? which grossed over $112 million at the box office.

Jennifer Lopez has also had a successful music career, staring with her debut album On The 6. The title of the album refers to the Castle Hill subway train that she used as a child. The album, released in 1999, featured the singles 'If You Had My Love' and 'Waiting For Tonight.' The guest artists on the album included Fat Joe and Big Pun.

Her second album, J.Lo, was released in 2001, debuting at number one in the US album charts. The lead single from the album was 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' and was followed by the release of 'Play'. The rap artist Ja Rule featured on a remix of 'Ain't It Funny' and 'I'm Real', as did Cadillac Tah. The following year, Jennifer released a remix album entitled J to tha L-O!: The Remixes. The album, which featured P. Diddy and Nas, became the first remix album to debut at number on in the US album charts and is the third best selling remix album of all time, behind Michael Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor:HIStory in the Mix and You Can Dance, the Madonna remix album.

2002 also saw Lopez release This Is Me. Then, which featured two highly popular singles, 'Jenny from the Block' (which featured Jadakiss) and 'All I Have' (which featured LL Cool J). The album also contained a cover of the 1978 Carly Simon song 'You Belong To Me'.

Rebirth, released in 2005, was Lopez's fourth studio album. It lacked the success of its predecessor, though its lead single, 'Get Right' was her second Platinum-selling hit.

Como Ama Una Mujer is the title of Jennifer Lopez's debut Spanish language album, released in 2007. Six months later, she released Brave, which featured the likes of Midi Mafia, Ryan Tedder and JR Rotem on production duties. The single 'Hold It, Don't Drop It' was a hit across the globe.

Jennifer Lopez: Business Ventures

Lopez launched her own clothing line in 2003, named 'JLO by Jennifer Lopez'. In 2005, she created a new line called 'Sweetface' as well as a children's range named 'JustSweet'. The animal cruelty protest group, PETA have campaigned against her use of animal fur in her clothing lines.

She also has a perfume range, with 'Glow by J.Lo' being her first fragrance, followed by 'Still', 'Miami Glow' and 'Live Luxe'.

Jennifer Lopez: Personal Life

Jennifer Lopez married Ojani Noa in 1997 but they divorced less than 12 months later.

In the late 1990s, Jennifer Lopez had a relationship with the hip-hop star Sean Combs (Puff Daddy). An incident involving the pair's arrest over a gunfight in a Manhattan club soon contributed to the end of their relationship.

Lopez's second marriage was to the dancer Cris Judd. The marriage ended when Jennifer embarked on a relationship with the actor Ben Affleck. They got engaged in November 2002 but the wedding, due to take place in 2003, was called off hours before it was due to happen.

Lopez then married Marc Anthony, who she had worked with musically in the past. They married in 2004, with guests being told that they were attending an afternoon party, rather than a wedding. Lopez gave birth to their twins in February 2008.