All the strength that I needed for life , I got from that neighborhood .
Lopez ’ s first brush with Hollywood came when she worked as a backup dancer for New Kids on the Block in 1991 . From there she landed on the show In Living Color as a Fly Girl . She moved from New York City to Los Angeles in 1993 to become a regular cast member on the show . Minor appearances in Mi Familia , Money Train , and Jack followed , but it was her portrayal of the late Latin recording artist Selena Quintanilla that served as Lopez ’ s breakout movie .
To prepare for the role , Lopez painstakingly researched Selena ’ s backstory and even slept in her bed to better capture the tragically short life of the Queen of Tejano Music . The hard work paid off and earned Lopez a 1998 Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a musical or comedy .
Lopez followed it up with starring roles in Anaconda and Out of Sight and became the first Latin actress to make over $ 1 million for a film . She went on to release her debut studio album On the 6 , followed up by the simultaneous 2001 release of her second album J . Lo and the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner , which garnered her the distinction of being the first woman to have a number one film and album in the same week .
“ I always wanted to be great at what I did — that ’ s what drove me . My race has never been with anyone else , it ’ s been with myself ,” she told Vanity Fair ’ s Julie Miller in 2018 . “ If I got rejected , I wouldn ’ t take it personally . I was like , make them a fan and they ’ ll bring you back in for something else . I never thought about money or fame , and I never really thought that would happen to me . All that was just a by-product .”
When asked by Vanity Fair writer Britt Hennemuth what a 10-year-old Jennifer might be surprised to know she ’ d ultimately achieved , Lopez said : “ So many things . Wow . When I did my first movie , when I booked my first dance job and went to Europe and nobody in my family had ever been to Europe . The first time I heard my record on the radio . The first time I was in the studio recording a record . The first time I saw myself on screen and I was sitting in the movie theater , and I saw Mi Familia and I started crying .”
“ Sometimes I didn ’ t believe my life . I don ’ t believe what happens to me and the things that I ’ m able to experience and
I definitely feel like I ' ve grown up . the opportunities that I ’ ve gotten . It ’ s every single moment , even till this moment , surprises me and touches my heart in a way that I could never really even begin to explain .”
Interspersed throughout her prolific career have been a string of romances that have come and gone and come around again . The most notable coupling was with actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck from mid-2002 to early 2004 . Tabloids dubbed the duo Bennifer , when the pair starred together in the much ridiculed Gigli . After breaking off their engagement , Lopez married singer Marc Anthony in 2004 and gave birth to fraternal twins , Maximillian David and Emma Maribel in 2008 . The couple divorced in 2011 .
Lopez explained how being a mom changed her to Miller . “ I can ’ t help but be a different person now that I ’ ve had kids . That really does change your whole perspective on life for the better . I definitely feel like I ’ ve grown up .”
After splitting from Anthony , Lopez retained primary physical custody of Emme and Max and went on to date former backup dancer Casper Smart before dating baseball player Alex Rodriguez . Engaged in 2019 , the pair announced the end of their relationship in April of this year . Since then , Lopez has been seen with her former paramour , Affleck .
In an interview with Ebro Darden for Apple Music 1 , Lopez subtly addressed the breakup with ex-fiancé Rodriguez . “ Once you get to the point where you ’ re like , ‘ This is not right for me , or this doesn ’ t feel good , or I need to make an adjustment here . This is not really about anybody else but me .’ Once you do that , stuff starts falling into place .”
And , things have certainly been falling into place for Lopez over the last couple of years . In addition to her turn in Hustlers , which garnered Lopez a lot of Oscar buzz in 2019 , she has multiple movies in production including Marry Me with Owen Wilson and Shotgun Wedding with Josh Duhamel . And , of course , there ’ s her relationship with Affleck , who even before they got back together came down on the Academy for overlooking Lopez for an Oscar for Hustlers .
“ She should have been nominated . She ’ s the real thing … How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50 ?” said Affleck .
As for being a sex symbol in her 50s , Lopez considers aging all about attitude . “ I find myself thinking about being youthful and timeless at every age . At some point aging is going to happen , but until then , you decide how strong you ’ re going to be . How much you ’ re going to move . How much you ’ re going to work . How active you ’ re are going to be in your mind , with your life , with your body ,” she said to Darden . “ You decide . And you can keep it strong . You can keep it good .”
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