Biography of Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. Her father, David, was a computer technician. Her mother, Guadalupe, taught kindergarten. Jennifer is the middle of three daughters. Her elder sister, Leslie, is a housewife who sings opera. Her younger sister, Lynda, is a DJ on New York's WKTU, a VH1 VJ, and a morning news show correspondent on New York's Channel 11. Jennifer's parents were born in Puerto Rico, but did not meet until both came to America. Her mother's parents were Europeans who settled in Puerto Rico.
She says that it was her parents' work ethic that made a difference in her life. Jennifer took singing and dancing lessons from age 5. She attended 12 years of Catholic school, including an all-girl high school. She played softball and tennis in high school and was a gymnast.
Lopez financed singing and dancing lessons for herself from the age of 16. After leaving a one semester-long career at Baruch College, Lopez divided her time between working in a legal office, dance classes, and dance performances in Manhattan clubs at night. After months of auditioning for dance roles, Lopez was selected as a dancer for various rap artists’ music videos, and was given a guest spot on the American Music Awards.
After being rejected for the role twice, Lopez gained her first regular high profile gig was as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the television comedy program, In Living Color in 1991. Soon after Lopez became a back-up dancer for famed Pop star Janet Jackson and made an appearance in her video That’s The Way Love Goes.
Lopez has appeared on the short-lived television programs South Central, Second Chances and Hotel Malibu, the television movie Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7, and the Janet Jackson’s music video, "That’s The Way Love Goes" in 1993. Lopez broke into the big screen in 1995, in the drama "My Family" and then appeared opposite Wesley Snipes in the action film Money Train. Lopez has also held 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 film Selena and in 1998, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance. She also became the first Latina actress to get paid $1 million or more for one film, for her role in Selena. Among other films for which Lopez has been considered are Desperado, Gladiator, Hitch, Jerry Maguire, and Madagascar.
Now she was ready, 1999 seeing the release of her debut album, On The 6, its title recalling the train she used to take to auditions and classes in Manhattan. All the stops were pulled out, all favours pulled in. Big time producers were employed - Puff Daddy, Emilio Estefan, Rodney Jerkins and Rick Wake - the mix intended to perfect her hybrid of hip-hop, Latin and pop. Marc Anthony made an appearance, duetting on No Me Ames, as did rappers Fat Joe and Big Punisher. The crossover was brilliantly executed. The first single, If You Had My Love, went to Number One. No Me Ames was a Latin chart-topper.
In the summer of 2000, she starred in the science fiction-thriller The Cell, in which she plays a child psychologist helping to track a terrifying serial killer. The same year, she starred in Enough, a portrayal of spousal abuse.
The popularity of the multi-talented Lopez reached new heights in early 2001, when her album, J. Lo debuted at No. 1 on the pop charts, while her film, the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner, shot to the top spot at the box office in its first week of release.
In December 2002, she performed another one-two punch with the release of the record This Is Me ... Then and a starring role in the comedy Maid in Manhattan, which was a box office hit, if not a critical one. In 2003, she co-starred with Ben Affleck in the box office bomb, Gigli. Other projects included Jersey Girl (also with Affleck) and An Unfinished Life, in which she played a single mom taken in by her father-in-law played by Robert Redford. She also starred opposite Richard Gere in Shall We Dance?, a remake of the top-grossing Japanese flick.
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 fall release, 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.
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.
