- Pop and R&B singer and songwriter born in 1969 from The Bronx, New York City. Her parents are Puerto Rican.
- At 5 years old, Lopez started singing and dancing lessons. She and her sisters put on performances at home, which her parents encouraged so that they would stay out of trouble. She was athletically talented in high school, in gymnastics, track and softball. Her senior year, she learned about a low budget film that was looking for several teenage girls. She auditioned and was cast in the film My Little Girl in 1986. Enjoying the experience, she decided she wanted to become an actress, but her parents did not support the idea. After graduation, she moved out of her parents home, and performed in regional productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Oklahoma!. She toured in Europe as a chorus member for the musical Golden Musicals of Broadway, and soon after worked as a dancer and singer in Japan in the show Synchronicity.
- In 1991, she was chosen to be a backup dancer for New Kids on the Block, performing at the American Music Awards. Soon after, she was chosen from 2,000 applicants to be a member of the dance troupe on the TV show In Living Color. She moved to Los Angeles and performed on the show for 2 seasons. After that, she became a full time actress. From 1993 to 1997, she acted in various films and TV projects. In 1997, she was chosen for the lead role in the biopic film Selena, which chronicled the life of mega-pop star Selena, who was murdered in 1995. It was the breakthrough role for her. After the film, she made a demo of several songs sung in Spanish, and a record company signed her, asking her to sing in English as well.
- Already a film star, she proved to the skeptics that she also had immense singing talents. Lopez released her debut single, If You Had My Love, in 1999, and her debut album On the 6 several weeks later. The single, co-written by Lopez, hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, remaining there for 5 weeks. The album sold over 8 million copies worldwide and was certified 3x platinum in the U.S. The album also included the song Waiting for Tonight, which peaked at #8.
- Continuing with her acting career, she tweaked her image, promoting herself as a sex symbol and using the moniker J.Lo. As such, she released her second studio album in 2001, naming the album J.Lo. The album debuted at #1 on the album chart, and ultimately was certified 4x platinum. Simultaneously, her film The Wedding Planner was #1 at the box office, making her the first and only artist to have a #1 album and #1 film at the same time. Three singles from the album charted in the top 20, with I’m Real reaching #1 on the Hot 100, and Love Don’t Cost a Thing peaking at #3. I’m Real was the #30 song for the entire decade of the 00s.
- Later in 2001, a hip hop remix version of the song Ain’t It Funny, featuring Ja Rule, was released on the compilation album J to tha L-O! The Remixes. The compilation album reached #1 on the album chart, and Ain’t It Funny topped the Hot 100 chart. Her next studio album, This Is Me…Then was released in 2002, with 2 more major hits – Jenny From The Block (featuring Jadakiss and Styles) peaked at #3 and All I Have (featuring LL Cool J) topped the Hot 100.
- Her next 3 albums during the 00s were less successful. Rebirth in 2005 was certified platinum, but the only single that was a hit was Get Right, which reached #12 on the Hot 100 chart. In 2007, she released an album of songs entirely in Spanish – Como Ama Una Mujer (translated How a Woman Loves) – it topped the Latin Albums chart. Brave, released later in 2007, sampled classic R&B and funk songs, and was a commercial disappointment – Lopez’s lowest selling album of her career.
- Lopez released 2 albums during the 10s – Love? was released in 2011 and A.K.A. was released in 2014. Love? included the song On the Floor (featuring Pitbull), and was a huge comeback hit for J.Lo – it reached #3 on the Hot 100, and #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart. The single is certified 4x platinum – her best selling single ever, with worldwide sales of over 11 million copies, and it topped charts in 30 different countries. A.K.A. had 1 modest hit – Booty (featuring Iggy Azalea) reached #18 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart.
- While continuing to act, she released 13 singles between 2015 and 2019, though none of them have performed well on the major Billboard charts. Five of them are in Spanish, and it is anticipated that she will release another all-Spanish album sometime in the future.
- Don’t worry about J.Lo – she’s doing just fine. Her boyfriend is Alex Rodriguez (he of one of the most lucrative contracts in sports history). Her 3 year residency in Las Vegas grossed over $100 million in ticket sales. She has a make-up collection, a sunglasses collection, a clothing line, a fragrance line, and a charitable foundation. She is a style icon, and she continues to star and produce films and TV shows (as of this writing, she has performed in 33 films and 10 television series in her career). She is considered the most influential Hispanic performer in the U.S. She has won well over a hundred awards (although she has only had 2 Grammy nominations). She has sold over 80 million records and her films have grossed over $3 billion.
- Here’s my fave J.Lo song – her best selling dance hit with Pitbull, On the Floor (Yes, I happen to be a big fan of high energy dance pop music). Only 1.3 billion views on YouTube…