Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Jennifer Lopez


Jennifer Lopez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jennifer Lynn López (born 24 July 1969) is a well-known American actress, pop/latin/R&B singer, fashion designer, and dancer. She is also commonly nicknamed J-Lo or J.Lo.

Early years

Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York, New York to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodríguez and David López. She has two sisters, Lynda and Leslie. Though López's parents were born in the same Puerto Rican town, they did not meet until they both had moved to Castle Hill. They were strict with their children and instilled a strong work ethic in them — no one in the family was allowed to miss a day of school, work, or church (the family was devoutly Roman Catholic). "Our parents had a strong work ethic — there wasn't really any other way," Lynda López told Rolling Stone. López' parents also stressed assimilation, especially the need to speak English. López spent much of what she called "the boyfriend years" sneaking around to meet up with first-love Davíd 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." She spent her entire academic career in Catholic school and acknowledges that she still prays regularly. She was a driven student and natural athlete. 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 López 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 López said. "That's the kind of person she is."

López financed singing and dancing lessons from the age of 16. After she dropped out of college after one semester, Lopez pursued dancing full-time. She split her time between her job at a law office, taking dance classes, and dancing in Manhattan clubs at night. Though she did not, and still does not, drink alcohol, her parents disapproved of her working nights so far from home and feared she was associating with a dangerous crowd. She moved out of the house in protest of her parents and literally lived on the floor of the dance studio for many years until she could pay rent with occasional work as a dancer. After months and months of auditioning for dance gigs, she got her first spot and started out in television as a video girl for various rap artists, and a guest spot on the American Music Awards. Her first regular high profile gig was as a fly girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color in 1990 after being twice rejected. She then left the show after the second season due to friction with another dancer. López had a small role in a short-lived television program South Central. She also found television work in Second Chances and Hotel Malibu and the made-for-TV movie Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. She danced for Janet Jackson in Jackson's video for the song "That's The Way Love Goes" in 1993. López 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 opposite Robin Williams, and the 1997 thriller Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson.

After a nationwide search of tens of thousands of women, López was chosen to play the lead role in the film Selena. In 1998, the Golden Globe Awards organization nominated her for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy for her performance.

Music

López' debut album, On The 6, a reference to the subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill, was released on 1 June 1999 and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. The album featured the multi-week #1 lead single, "If You Had My Love", as well as the top ten hit "Waiting For Tonight". It also contained the Spanish-language, Latin-flavored duet "No Me Ames" with Marc Anthony, which was an international hit, though the song was never released as a single in the US. Despite this, the video received moderate airplay on the US music channels VH1 and The Box as a novelty. The album also spawned another international hit in "Feelin' So Good", a hip-hop track which contained guest raps by Big Pun and Fat Joe; it failed to make the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. "Let's Get Loud" was also released as a single, and became a minor dance hit. "Waiting For Tonight" and "Let's Get Loud" earned Lopez 2 Grammy Awards nominations for the Best Dance Recording category, in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Her sophomore effort, J. Lo, was released in January 2001 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, "Love Don't Cost A Thing" was her first UK number one single, and, along with its follow-up, "Play" (which was written by rising teen star, Christina Milian) became a top five hit during the year the album was released. The album's next two singles, "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny", ended up becoming her biggest hits ever, with both spending several weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, to capitalize on this, López asked Murder Inc. to remix both songs, completely changing the lyrics and melodies and adding raps from Ja Rule to both songs, and from Caddillac Tah to "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)". The "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny" remixes were two of the biggest pop/rap hits in late 2001 and early 2002, respectively, and many consider that their more urban/hip-hop sound gave J. Lo street cred' and opened her up her music to a whole new audiance. She re-released the CD on her 32nd birthday, July 24, 2001, including Ja Rule's remixed version of "I'm Real".

The original version of "I'm Real" sparked controversy when it came to light that it contained a sample of Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Firecracker", originally planned to be used for Mariah Carey's single "Loverboy". Rumors suggest this was the doing of Tommy Mottola, Carey's ex-husband. Carey was forced to scrap the sample, instead using a sample of the Cameo's song "Candy".

Following the successes of the remix, Lopez decided to devote an entire album to the effort; the result, J To Tha L-O!: The Remixes, appeared on 5 February, 2002. This album, too, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first remix album in history to enter at the top on the chart. This time around, she got 50 Cent and Nas to write lyrics for two remixes of her next single, "I'm Gonna Be Alright", which ended up becoming another top ten hit. The album also included rarer dance and hip-hop remixes of her past singles, and a new song, a ballad called "Alive", which was included in Lopez's movie Enough.

On 26 November, 2002, Lopez released her third studio album, This Is Me... Then, which reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two very popular[citation needed] singles; the top 5 "Jenny From The Block", (sampling the track from the song "Watch Out Now" by the Beatnuts), and including raps from Jadakiss and Styles P and the multi-week #1 "All I Have" featuring LL Cool J. Another single, "I'm Glad", was also released, but only managed to go Top 40, a rather low result considering López' usual chart success. Another song from the album was a cover of Carly Simon's "You Belong To Me".

In 2004, López once again participated in duets with Marc Anthony, this time on his albums Amar Sin Mentiras and Valió La Pena.

After a considerable amount of time away from the music scene, Lopez finally released her fourth studio album, Rebirth, on 1 March 2005. Debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 to initially decent sales success, but the album quickly fell off the charts. Despite this, the album has so-far spawned one hit in "Get Right", which reached the Top 20. Even so, "Get Right" was a huge hit in the UK, becoming her second #1 single there. The second single, "Hold You Down", which featured Fat Joe, the song made it into the top 75 in the US, peaking at #64. It reached #17 in Australia with little to no promotion and managed a peak of #6 in the UK. Later in 2005, it was certified Platinum in the U.S. by RIAA. To date, Rebirth has sold 4 million copies worldwide.

In 17 October 2006, Jennifer López is to release her first Spanish album, titled Como Ama Una Mujer, and now she's also recording her next English album, which is said to be ska-influenced. She was to make her first summer tour, which included countries such as the UAE, Bulgaria, Greece, India, Mexico, and Turkey, but that was later cancelled.

Fashion

López owns a clothing line called "JLO by Jennifer Lopez", whose brand has been licensed for a term by Warnaco Group [1]. Her line is the most successful of any artists' in history and includes many different types of clothing for young women, including jeans, tees, coats, belts, purses, sexy lingerie and many other products. Furthermore, she is planning to launch a jewelry line, hats, gloves and a scarves line.

Lopez has also dabbled 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". "Still" came with a ring attached to the bottle, meant to perhaps mirror her infamous pink engagement ring from fiancée Ben Affleck. Before launching a completely new fragrance, she revisited 2002's "Glow", creating a spin off "Miami Glow by J.Lo" - an homage to her adopted hometown of Miami. The fragrance was a limited edition which came with a braided type bracelet that the customer could wear - reminiscent of the "J.Lo" logo necklace that came with the "Glow by J.Lo". Around the same time, Jennifer concocted the concept of a "Glow" body line which was launched, featuring different body creams and bronzers. For the Christmas season of 2005, she launched yet another new fragrance "Live by Jennifer Lopez". Most recently, for Valentine's Day 2006, "Miami Glow" was replaced by yet another "Glow" spinoff - "Love At First Glow by J.Lo". The bottle remained the same shape as "Glow" and "Miami Glow" but is pink and comes with a "J.Lo" logo cell phone charm.

During November of 2005 of the same year, she launched a new clothing line called "Sweetface".

Lopez's frequent use of 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.

She has also done a photoshoot to represent the Louis Vuitton Winter 2003 campaign, in which the pictures would be seen all over the world through TV commercials, billboards, ads, newspapers, magazines and more.

Other merchandise includes a clothing and cologne line for men due for release sometime in 2006.

J.Lo Inc.

López owns a production company called Nuyorican Productions, in which she is expected to produce some of her upcoming movies. Some of the projects for the company include Bordertown, Dirty Girls Social Club (featuring Jeffrey Wilkinson as Dirty Girl # 4) and El Cantante. This company was founded together with her former manager, Benny Medina, whom she filed a lawsuit against because of alleged fraud in July 2003.

Currently, the company produces the television series South Beach for UPN and in May 2006, it was announced that J.Lo would be executively producing her new reality dance series for MTV, called Moves.

MTV Moves

In May 2006, MTV gave the greenlight on her executively produced reality show, Moves. In something of a The Real World meets Solid Gold premise, the show will follow the lives of six aspiring dancers as they struggle to make it in the competitive world of professional dance.

Lopez, who took an active role in selecting the show's participants, is also slated to make cameo appearances over the course of the season and the show's eight-episode run is scheduled to kick off this winter.

Relationships

López is notorious for her multiple relationships. She has been married three times, and dated numerous men during her career.

Her first marriage, to waiter Ojani Noa, occurred on 22 February, 1997. He was later named the manager of López' restaurant, Madre's. They divorced in January 1998. On 10 April 2006, López sued Noa, claiming he breached a confidentiality agreement he signed by shopping around a tell-all book about their relationship.

From 1999 to 2001, she dated rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs (then known as Sean "Puff Daddy" or simply "Puffy" Combs). Both were arrested in connection with a nightclub shooting in December 1999. Police found them in possession of a stolen gun. The charges against López were dropped. Combs was indicted but was eventually tried and acquitted. The adverse publicity caused a great deal of stress on the relationship, and their breakup was announced (ironically enough) on Valentine's Day, 2001.

Her second marriage was to Chris Judd, her former backup dancer. She met Judd while filming the music video for her single "Love Don't Cost A Thing". The two were married on 29 September, 2001 at a home in a Los Angeles suburb officiated by attorney Barry Hirsch. The marriage ended in June 2002, during which time she reportedly had started dating actor Ben Affleck.

López announced her engagement to Affleck in October 2002, after Affleck gave her a ring worth a reported $3.5 million. The marriage, planned for 14 September, 2003 in Santa Barbara, California, was called off just a few days before the event. She and Affleck split for good in January 2004. Their relationship was parodied on the South Park episode, "Fat Butt and Pancake Head" that aired on 16 April, 2003. By this time López was involved with singer Marc Anthony, who was married at that time.

López married Anthony in a secret wedding on 5 June, 2004, less than a week after his divorce was finalized from former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres. The guests were invited to an "afternoon party" without knowing that they were going to a wedding. Years before they married (or even became a couple), she and Marc Anthony sang a song together called "No Me Ames" which appeared on her album On The 6.

Almost immediately, rumors began that the ceremony was a "shotgun" and that López was pregnant. López had said in the past that, as a practicing Catholic, she would never have a baby without being married. Complicating the situation is Anthony's refusal to confirm his marriage to López, and the fact that his divorce took place in the Dominican Republic less than a week before his reported marriage to López, making it potentially an invalid marriage in the United States. The couple has since confirmed their marriage, although López refuses to discuss it.

López has become a stepmother to the two sons, Cristian and Ryan, that Anthony had with Torres, and also to his daughter, Arianna, from a previous relationship. As of now, they are still together.

Her famous buttocks

López's buttocks, which are commonly described as attractively curvacious, have frequently been the subject of comment and parody, and which has coined the phrase J-Lo Butt or J-Lo Booty when describing a woman with similar features.

The entertainer won the title of Best Female Body in the UK magazine Celebrity Bodies poll in 2001 as well as the top spot in FHM magazine's 2000 and 2001 polls of Sexiest Women, with all of the polls citing her superb 195 cm (76.8 in) circumference buttocks as the reason. Jennifer López' derriere has been estimated to be between 190 and 215 cm (74.8 to 84.6 in) in circumference by People magazine and The National Enquirer. (By comparison, Arnold Schwarzenegger's largest chest size was 147.3 cm or 58 inches.)

In a skit at the MTV Video Music Awards, Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog begged Lopez to let him sniff her rear end, claiming that it was the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest for a dog. Access Hollywood interviewer Billy Bush asked her in 2002, "How do you feel about your butt?" to which she replied "Are you kidding me? You did not just ask me that."

The 2006 spoof Date Movie makes fun of a wedding planner (a clear parody of the J. Lo Movie, The Wedding Planner) endowed with a enormous and dangerous behind, poking fun at López's most famous asset. Still another example has been shown on Entertainment Tonight, involving a playful cameraman. During the filming of Luis Llosa's Anaconda, between scenes, López was filmed from behind, going from one part of the set to another. Upon discovering this, she whined: "Don't get the back view!", and she reportedly is always good natured about comments regarding her buttocks.

Accomplishments

  • Jennifer Lopez became the first Latina actress to get paid $1 million or more for one film (for her role in Selena).
  • Lopez is the first actress and singer to have a movie (The Wedding Planner) and an album (J. Lo) at #1 in the same week.
  • Lopez's perfume "Glow" made history in 2001, by being the #1 perfume in more than nine countries in less than four months.
  • Lopez is the only woman who has been #1 two years in a row in FHM magazine's list of the 100 Sexiest Females in the World.
  • Lopez made the 2004 Fortune list of the wealthiest entertainers under the age of 40. Her wealth is estimated at $255 million.
  • Lopez made the highest debut of 2003 on the US charts with "All I Have" debuting at #17.
  • Lopez has sold nearly 15 million records worldwide.
  • Lopez has 5 #1 hits in the U.S. and a combined 20 weeks at #1
  • Lopez is one of the top 10 highest paid actresses in Hollywood.
  • She has one of the most memorable fashion moments when she wore Versace green dress at 2000 Grammy Awards.

Discography

Main article: Jennifer Lopez discography
  • If You Had My Love
  • No Me Ames (duet with Marc Anthony)
  • Waiting For Tonight
  • Feelin' So Good (featuring Big Pun & Fat Joe)
  • Let's Get Loud
  • Love Don't Cost A Thing
  • Play
  • Ain't It Funny
  • I'm Real
  • I'm Real (Murder Remix featuring Ja Rule)
  • Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix featuring Ja Rule & Caddillac Tah)
  • I'm Gonna Be Alright (Track Masters Remix featuring Nas)
  • Alive (from movie Enough)
  • Get Right
  • Hold You Down (featuring Fat Joe)

Awards and nominations

Main article: Jennifer Lopez's awards and nominations

1995


1997


1998


1999


2000


2001


2002


2003


2004


2005


2006

  • Groovevolt Music & Fashion Awards: 3 nominations – Best Pop Song by a Group or Collaboration ("Get Right (Remix)") - shared with Fabolous - and Most Fashionable Artist; won Most Fashionable Music Video ("Get Right")
  • ALMA Awards: nomination for Outstanding Female Performer

Selected filmography

Year Title Role Salary
2005 An Unfinished Life Jean Gilkyson US$ 3, 000,000
2005 Monster-in-Law Charlotte "Charlie" Cantilini US$ 15,000,000
2004 Shall We Dance Paulina US$ 10,000,000
2004 Jersey Girl Gertrude Steiney US$ 4,000,000
2003 Gigli Ricki US$ 12,000,000
2002 Maid in Manhattan Marisa Ventura US$ 12,000,000
2002 Enough Slim Hiller US$ 10,000,000
2001 Angel Eyes Sharon Pogue US$ 9,000,000
2001 The Wedding Planner Mary Fiore US$ 9,000,000
2000 The Cell Catherine Deane US$ 6,000,000
1998 Antz Azteca US$ 500,000
1998 Out of Sight Karen Sisco US$ 2,000,000
1997 U Turn Grace McKenna US$ 1,000,000
1997 Anaconda Terri Flores US$ 7,000,000
1997 Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez US$ 1,000,000
1997 Blood and Wine Gabriela "Gabby" US$ 250,000
1996 Jack Miss Márquez US$ 200,000
1995 Money Train Grace Santiago US$ 200,000
1995 My Family/Mi Familia María Sánchez, in the '20s US$ 50,000
1990 Lambada Booker US$ ?
1987 My Little Girl Myra US$ ?

Upcoming Films:

See also

External links

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Posted by Pieter Joubert at 7:12 AM | | Comments