Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969) is an American actress, businesswoman, dancer and recording artist. Often referred to as J.Lo, she is reportedly the highest earning actress of Latin descent.[1][2] Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, she enrolled in singing and dancing classes as a child and grew up in a musically influenced household. She started her career as a fly girl on the television comedy program In Living Color and a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson. Lopez gained recognition in the action-thriller Money Train (1995). Her first leading role was in the biographical film Selena (1997), which was her breakthrough role, earning her an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress and Golden Globe nomination. She earned her second ALMA Award for her performance in Out of Sight (1998), which made her the highest-paid Latin actress. She has since appeared in various films including The Cell (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Shall We Dance? (2004), Monster-in-Law (2005), The Back-up Plan (2010) and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012).
In 1998, Lopez began recording her debut album and released On the 6 (1999), which spawned the hit singles "If You Had My Love" and "Waiting for Tonight". Her second album J.Lo (2001) reached number one on the Billboard 200 the same week her film The Wedding Planner led the box office, becoming the first person to achieve a number one film and album in the same week. It spawned the number-one single "I'm Real" which spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and "Love Don't Cost a Thing". She released J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002), which became the first number-one remix album in the United States. Her third and fourth studio albums, This Is Me... Then (2002) and Rebirth (2005) reached number two. In 2007 she released her first full Spanish album Como ama una Mujer. Returning to music in 2011, she released her seventh album Love?, which spawned her most successful single "On the Floor", one of the best-selling singles of all time.
By 2010, Lopez had amassed estimated sales of over 55 million records worldwide,[3] Billboard ranked her as the 27th Artist of the 2000s decade.[4] In 2010, Lopez became a member of the judging panel for the American reality television competition American Idol.[5] She was selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.[6] She led People en Español's list of "100 Most Influential Hispanics" in February 2007.[7] That year, Lopez made the Forbes magazine's list of "The 20 Richest Women In Entertainment," ranking ninth.[8] In 2012, Forbes placed her number one on their list of "100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the World".[9] She has appeared multiple times on The Hollywood Reporter's Annual Actress Salary List, and is the highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood.[10]
Lopez also has a fashion line and various perfumes with her celebrity endorsement.[11] She has worked with L'Oreal since 1999.[12] A fashion icon, several of her dresses have received considerable media attention, most notably the Jungle green Versace dress which she wore at the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2000—voted the fifth most iconic red carpet dress of all time.[13][14] Lopez advocates for human rights and vaccinations, and is a supporter of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In 2011 she was named the most "Beautiful Person" by People magazine in its annual issue.[15] As of 2012, her net worth is estimated to be $250 million—she has been named one of the wealthiest and most influential Hispanics in the United States.[16] Lopez's personal life has also garnered media attention, particularly her high profiled relationships.
Life and career
1969–94: Childhood and early work
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969[17] in the Castle Hill neighborhood of The Bronx, New York. The middle child of Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez,[18] she has an elder sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda (born June 14, 1971). David worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company, before becoming a computer technician at the firm, while Guadalupe was a homemaker. When Jennifer was born, the Lopez family was living in a small apartment. A few years later, her parents had saved up enough money to be able to purchase a two-story house, which was considered a big deal for the relatively poor family.
By the age of five, Lopez began taking singing and dancing lessons. She toured New York with her school when she was seven years old.[19] Her parents stressed the importance of work ethic and being able to speak English. They encouraged their three daughters to put on performances at home, singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so that they would stay "out of trouble".[19] Raised as a Roman Catholic;[20][21][22] Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at the all-girls Preston High School.[23] In school, Lopez did gymnastics, ran track on a national level and was a member of the school's softball team.[24] She excelled athletically rather than academically, competing in national track championships.[19] In 1984, at age fifteen she began dating David Cruz, her first boyfriend.
While attending her final year of high school, Lopez learned about a film casting that was seeking several teenage girls for small roles. She auditioned and was cast in My Little Girl (1986), an low-budget film co-written and directed by Connie Kaiserman.[25] Lopez acted as Myra, a young woman at a center for troubled girls. After she finished filming her role in the film, Lopez knew that she wanted to become a famous movie star. To please her parents, though, she enrolled in Baruch College, only to drop out after one semester. She told her parents her dream of becoming a movie star, but they ensisted that it was a "really stupid" idea and that "no Latinos did that". The differences in opinions led Lopez to move out of their family home and into an apartment in Manhattan. During this period, Lopez performed in regional productions of the musicals: Jesus Christ, Superstar! and Oklahoma. From there, she was hired for the chorus in a Golden Musicals of Broadway, which toured Europe for a period of five months. She was unhappy with the role, as she was the only member of the chorus not to have a solo. She later got a job on the show Synchronicity in Japan, where she acted as a dancer, singer and a choreographer.[26]
Lopez gained her first regular high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color in 1991. She applied for the job after one of the cast members was unavailable to continue with the show. Out of two thousand applicants, Lopez made it to the finals. She became the runner-up, but eventually received the role when the winner was unable to accept the job. She moved with Cruz to Los Angeles to film the series and remained a regular cast member until 1993 when she decided to pursue an acting career. After her departure from the show, Lopez became a backup dancer for Janet Jackson; also making an appearance in her 1993 video "That's the Way Love Goes".[27][28][29] Lopez received her first professional acting gig in the direct-to-video drama film Lost in the Wild (1993), co-starring alongside Lindsay Wagner and Robert Loggia.[30] In 1993 and 1994 Lopez starred as Melinda Lopez in the CBS television series Second Chances and its spin-off Hotel Malibu. Both shows ran for only a brief period, receiving negative reviews.[31][32][33][34]
1995–98: Selena and first marriage
Lopez's received her first high-budget film role in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama My Family, playing the character of Young Maria in the 1920s.[35] After starring alongside Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in My Family, which earned her a Independent Spirit Award nomination, Lopez starred in the action film Money Train, opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.[36][37][38] In 1996, she reportedly beat out Ashley Judd and Lauren Holly for the supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams.[39] She then starred opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's well-received noir thriller Blood and Wine (1996).[23]
"That said, [Jennifer Lopez] takes what little she has in the way of a script and does a superb job playing [Selena Quintanilla Perez]. The movie rests squarely on her shoulders and she carries it well from start to finish. Her concert work is slick and stylish. It isn't her fault if there's too much of it in the final product. "
— Chris Cobb from
The Spectator on Lopez performance in
Selena, 1997
[40]
Lopez's first big break came in 1996, when she was chosen to play the title role in Selena, a biopic of the Tejano pop singer Selena.[23] Despite having previously worked with the film's director on My Family, Lopez was subjected to an intense auditioning process before she was cast in the film.[41] Lopez played Selena in her twenties, while Rebecca Lee Maza played Selena in her younger years.[42] During pre-production, Mexican-American activists were highly critical that Jennifer Lopez, a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents, was selected to play Selena. They preferred an actress with Mexican roots. However, after seeing Lopez's portrayal of Selena, they revised their opinions and were more accepting of Nava's decision.[43] Lopez earned widespread outstanding reviews and praise from critics for her portrayal of Selena. Kenneth Turan from Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan while giving the film a mixed review, he wrote that Selena was not just a celebration of Selena's life, but the actress who played her.[44] Joe Baltake said that Lopez was "is sensational in the title role" and complimented her for pulling off lip-syncing to Selena's original tracks as her own, as she was not a trained singer at the time.[45] She garnered multiple awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy".[citation needed]
On February 22, 1997, Lopez married Cuban-born Ojani Noa, who she met while he worked as a waiter in a Miami restaurant; they were divorced by January 1998.[46] Later that year, Lopez appeared in two major films. She starred in the horror film Anaconda alongside Ice Cube and Jon Voight, playing the role of Terri Flores, a director who is shooting a documentary while traveling through the Amazon River.[47] Despite being a modest box office hit, the film was critically panned.[48] Lopez then starred as the leading actress in the neo-noir film U Turn, which is based on the book Stray Dogs, starring alongside Sean Penn and Billy Bob Thornton.[23] In 1998, she had one of her most acclaimed roles, starring opposite George Clooney in Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel.[23][49] Cast as a deputy federal marshal who falls for a charming criminal, Lopez won rave reviews for her performance and in the process she became the first Latina actress to earn over $1 million for a role.[50][51] That same year, she provided the voice for Azteca on the computer-animated film Antz.[52][53] Around this time, Lopez started dating rap mogul Sean Combs. Combs allegedly showered Lopez with diamonds and jewelry, the inspiration for her 2000 hit, "Love Don't Cost a Thing".[54]
1999–2001: On the 6, J.Lo, The Wedding Planner and second marriage
By May 1999, publicity for Lopez's debut album had begun and the news spread fast.[55] Lopez's debut album On the 6, a reference to the 6 subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill,[23] was released on June 1, 1999, and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. Her debut single, "If You Had My Love" was released on May 21, 1999, and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 12, 1999.[56][57] The song stayed on the chart for a total of 25 weeks.[57] It was proceeded by the release of "Waiting for Tonight", which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a dance club hit.[58] Prior to the release of "Waiting For Tonight" as a single, a Spanish language Latin-flavored ballad with Marc Anthony "No Me Ames" was released and failed to chart on major charts.[55][56] On the 6 featured guest artists such as Big Pun and Fat Joe on the track "Feelin' So Good", which had moderate success on the Billboard Hot 100, however failed to reach the top 50. "Let's Get Loud", the final single, earned Lopez a Grammy Award nomination in the "Best Dance Recording" category of the 2001 Grammy Awards.[59] "Waiting for Tonight" was nominated for the same category the previous year.[60] "No Me Ames" received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards – "Best Pop Duo/Group with Vocal Performance" and "Best Music Video". In addition, Lopez was nominated for more awards then any other at the 1999 The Billboard Music Video Awards, scoring seven nominations in total, leading the likes of Christina Aguilera.[61]
On February 23, 2000, Lopez showed up to the 42nd Grammy Awards with Combs wearing a plunging exotic green Versace silk chiffon dress, which became known as the "Green Versace Jungle Dress" by Lopez. The dress, known for its low cut neck that extended before her navel and its open back, caused much controversy and garnered media attention. Images of Lopez in the green dress were downloaded from the Grammy website 642,917 times in just 24 hours after the event.[62] Lopez was surprised by the enormous media coverage, declaring in an interview: "It was a nice dress. I had no idea it was going to become such a big deal."[63] Versace later revealed that the dress was the turning point of her career, saying that the media now had confidence in her own work, after the death of Gianni Versace.[63] With the release and promotion of On The 6 over, Lopez had successfully converted herself from film star to pop star within 12 months.[64] Around this time, Lopez's fans started to dub her as "J.Lo". Lopez then starred opposite Vincent D'Onofrio, in the psychological thriller film The Cell, released on August 18, 2000.[65] She portrayed Catherine Deane, a child psychologist who uses virtual reality to enter into the minds of her patients to coax them out of their comas. The film was released in August 2000 and became a box-office success, opening at number one.[49][66]
By August 2000, Lopez had begun work on her sophomore album.[67][68] J.Lo was released on January 23, 2001, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, exceeding sales of 270,000 copies in its first week.[69][70] In addition, the album dethroned The Beatles from the top spot.[70] At the same time, her romantic comedy film, The Wedding Planner, which she starred in alongside Matthew McConaughey led box office receipts,[71][72] making Lopez the first female to have a film and an album at number one in the same week.[23][69][71] J.Lo was more urban oriented than On the 6. The lead single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", was her first number-one single in the United Kingdom and took her into the top five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[73] She followed it up with "Play" which gave her another top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number three in the UK.[74] The album's third single "I'm Real" reached number one on the Hot 100, as well as spending over a year on the chart, with a total of 62 weeks.[74] "I'm Real" was controversial for using a sample of the song "Firecraker"; which singer Mariah Carey had wanted to sample first. It was later shockingly announced that Carey's ex husband, Tommy Mottola had instructed record executive Irv Gotti to give Lopez the sample before Carey, and Lopez was unaware of this.[75] "Ain't It Funny" was released; however it did not receive proper commercial promotion in the United States therefore ineligible for charting on the Hot 100. To capitalize on this, Lopez asked The Inc. Records (then known as Murder Inc.) to remix both songs ("I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny), which featured rap artists Ja Rule (on both) and Cadillac Tah (on the "Ain't It Funny" remix). "Ain't It Funny (murder remix)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks, and led Radio Airplay and Pop Songs charts.[74] On July 24, 2001, She re-released J. Lo on her 32nd birthday with the remix of "I'm Real" as a bonus track. Also, "Si Ya Se Acabó" was released in Spain, due to the success "Que Ironia." In 2001, Lopez performed on tour on the Let's Get Loud "Live in Puerto Rico" Concert. J.Lo has sold 4 million copies in the United States alone. On September 27, 2004, a box set was released by Epic Records featuring On The 6 and J.Lo combined.[76]
Lopez next role was in a supernatural romance film, Angel Eyes which disappointed at the box office and garnered mixed reviews.[77] Lopez's boyfriend, former back-up dancer Cris Judd—who she met on the set of the video for "Love Don't Cost a Thing"—proposed to her at a barbecue[78] and they were married on September 29, 2001.[79] They traveled to Italy for their honeymoon, and later stayed at the home of designer and a longtime friend of Lopez's, Donatella Versace.[78]
999–2001: On the 6, J.Lo, The Wedding Planner and second marriage
By May 1999, publicity for Lopez's debut album had begun and the news spread fast.[55] Lopez's debut album On the 6, a reference to the 6 subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill,[23] was released on June 1, 1999, and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. Her debut single, "If You Had My Love" was released on May 21, 1999, and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 12, 1999.[56][57] The song stayed on the chart for a total of 25 weeks.[57] It was proceeded by the release of "Waiting for Tonight", which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a dance club hit.[58] Prior to the release of "Waiting For Tonight" as a single, a Spanish language Latin-flavored ballad with Marc Anthony "No Me Ames" was released and failed to chart on major charts.[55][56] On the 6 featured guest artists such as Big Pun and Fat Joe on the track "Feelin' So Good", which had moderate success on the Billboard Hot 100, however failed to reach the top 50. "Let's Get Loud", the final single, earned Lopez a Grammy Award nomination in the "Best Dance Recording" category of the 2001 Grammy Awards.[59] "Waiting for Tonight" was nominated for the same category the previous year.[60] "No Me Ames" received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards – "Best Pop Duo/Group with Vocal Performance" and "Best Music Video". In addition, Lopez was nominated for more awards then any other at the 1999 The Billboard Music Video Awards, scoring seven nominations in total, leading the likes of Christina Aguilera.[61]
On February 23, 2000, Lopez showed up to the 42nd Grammy Awards with Combs wearing a plunging exotic green Versace silk chiffon dress, which became known as the "Green Versace Jungle Dress" by Lopez. The dress, known for its low cut neck that extended before her navel and its open back, caused much controversy and garnered media attention. Images of Lopez in the green dress were downloaded from the Grammy website 642,917 times in just 24 hours after the event.[62] Lopez was surprised by the enormous media coverage, declaring in an interview: "It was a nice dress. I had no idea it was going to become such a big deal."[63] Versace later revealed that the dress was the turning point of her career, saying that the media now had confidence in her own work, after the death of Gianni Versace.[63] With the release and promotion of On The 6 over, Lopez had successfully converted herself from film star to pop star within 12 months.[64] Around this time, Lopez's fans started to dub her as "J.Lo". Lopez then starred opposite Vincent D'Onofrio, in the psychological thriller film The Cell, released on August 18, 2000.[65] She portrayed Catherine Deane, a child psychologist who uses virtual reality to enter into the minds of her patients to coax them out of their comas. The film was released in August 2000 and became a box-office success, opening at number one.[49][66]
By August 2000, Lopez had begun work on her sophomore album.[67][68] J.Lo was released on January 23, 2001, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, exceeding sales of 270,000 copies in its first week.[69][70] In addition, the album dethroned The Beatles from the top spot.[70] At the same time, her romantic comedy film, The Wedding Planner, which she starred in alongside Matthew McConaughey led box office receipts,[71][72] making Lopez the first female to have a film and an album at number one in the same week.[23][69][71] J.Lo was more urban oriented than On the 6. The lead single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", was her first number-one single in the United Kingdom and took her into the top five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[73] She followed it up with "Play" which gave her another top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number three in the UK.[74] The album's third single "I'm Real" reached number one on the Hot 100, as well as spending over a year on the chart, with a total of 62 weeks.[74] "I'm Real" was controversial for using a sample of the song "Firecraker"; which singer Mariah Carey had wanted to sample first. It was later shockingly announced that Carey's ex husband, Tommy Mottola had instructed record executive Irv Gotti to give Lopez the sample before Carey, and Lopez was unaware of this.[75] "Ain't It Funny" was released; however it did not receive proper commercial promotion in the United States therefore ineligible for charting on the Hot 100. To capitalize on this, Lopez asked The Inc. Records (then known as Murder Inc.) to remix both songs ("I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny), which featured rap artists Ja Rule (on both) and Cadillac Tah (on the "Ain't It Funny" remix). "Ain't It Funny (murder remix)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks, and led Radio Airplay and Pop Songs charts.[74] On July 24, 2001, She re-released J. Lo on her 32nd birthday with the remix of "I'm Real" as a bonus track. Also, "Si Ya Se Acabó" was released in Spain, due to the success "Que Ironia." In 2001, Lopez performed on tour on the Let's Get Loud "Live in Puerto Rico" Concert. J.Lo has sold 4 million copies in the United States alone. On September 27, 2004, a box set was released by Epic Records featuring On The 6 and J.Lo combined.[76]
Lopez next role was in a supernatural romance film, Angel Eyes which disappointed at the box office and garnered mixed reviews.[77] Lopez's boyfriend, former back-up dancer Cris Judd—who she met on the set of the video for "Love Don't Cost a Thing"—proposed to her at a barbecue[78] and they were married on September 29, 2001.[79] They traveled to Italy for their honeymoon, and later stayed at the home of designer and a longtime friend of Lopez's, Donatella Versace.[78]
2002–03: J to tha L-O! The Remixes, This Is Me... Then and Bennifer
Following the success of the re-release of J.Lo, Lopez decided to devote an entire album to the remix effort, releasing J to tha L–O! The Remixes, on February 5, 2002. This album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first remix album in history to debut at the top on the chart, selling over 150,000 copies in its opening week.[80][81] Featured artists on J to tha L–O! The Remixes include P. Diddy, Fat Joe, and Nas, and the album included rare dance and hip hop remixes of past singles. It is the third all-time biggest-selling remix album in history, after Michael Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, The Beatles' Love and Madonna's You Can Dance, having sold a total of 1.5 million copies as of October 2010.[82] In addition, it dethroned Alan Jackson's Drive from 3 consecutive weeks at the number-one spot on the chart.[83][84] J to tha L-O: The Remixes sold 624,000 copies within its first month, and stayed in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for a month, too.[85] It remained the only album to debut at number one in the United States for nearly 10 years, until Justin Bieber's remix effort in 2011 debuted at the top spot with similar opening sales.[86] "I'm Gonna Be Alright" which was previously on her J.Lo album was released as a single; impacting the charts by July 2002 and reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.[74][87] "I'm Gonna Be Alright" spent 23 weeks on the chart.[74] The track "Alive" written by Jennifer and Cris Judd was released as a single from the remix album.[88]
In May 2002, she starred in the thriller film Enough as Slim, a woman abused by her husband and on the run from him. The film garnered negative reviews;[89] however the fight scene at the finale of the movie was praised.[90] In addition, the film was considered a "kick-butt, female empowerment" movie.[91]
In June 2002, Lopez filed for divorce from her husband Cris Judd when she began publicly dating actor Ben Affleck.[92] Judd's father, Larry Judd blamed Affleck for the break up of his son's marriage. He told New York Daily News that Judd was the "best thing that happened to [Lopez]" and thought that "Mr. Affleck would honor a married women. [They'd] be happier if they just told the truth."[93] Lopez and Affleck announced their relationship at her thirty-second birthday.[94] They were engaged months later.[95][96] The media dubbed them "Bennifer" during their relationship, and became a prominent supercouple in the media.
Lopez released her third studio album, This Is Me... Then, on November 26, 2002. Unlike previous albums, it was more R&B oriented and much of its lyrical structure were about her relationship with her fiancé, Affleck.[97] The songs from the album, in particular the fifth track, "Dear Ben" detailed her romantic relationship with Affleck.[97] The album sold over 310,000 copies in its first week, Lopez's highest first-week sales to date, and reached two on the charts in the United States, and was on the charts for a total of forty weeks.[98] Prior to its release, the album's lead single "Jenny from the Block" was released. It reached 3 on the Hot 100, and was known for its controversial music video featuring Affleck. The song is about Lopez remaining modest and intoning her childhood roots vowing she wishes to remain simple despite her diamonds.[97] "All I Have", a duet with LL Cool J served as the third single from This Is Me... Then. It became Lopez's fifth song to top the Hot 100 charts.[74] "I'm Glad" and "Baby I Love U!" were released as the final singles from This Is Me... Then, both commercial disappointing, failing to match the success of her previous singles; however the music video for "I'm Glad" received four nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards the following year. The video recreated scenes from the 1983 film Flashdance, leading to a lawsuit over copyright infringement, which was later dismissed.[99][100] This Is Me... Then has sold over 2.5 million copies to date in the United States, her last album to reach over a million copies in sales in that country.[82]
After the release of This Is Me... Then, Lopez took time away from music to focus on films. After two consecutive critical and commercial failures in the films Enough and Angel Eyes, Lopez bounced back with the box office hit Maid in Manhattan, released on December 13, 2002. Her character, Marisa Ventura, is a struggling single mother who lives in the Bronx and makes her living cleaning rooms in a super-luxurious Manhattan hotel, and gets mistaken for a socialite by a princely politician, who she falls in love with.[101] Maid in Manhattan was a box-office hit, opening at number one. The New York Times compared the film's storyline to her 2002 song, "Jenny from the Block", commenting, "In her new single, 'Jenny From the Block', Jennifer Lopez declares that despite her enormous wealth and global fame, she has not lost touch with her roots."[102]
Lopez and Ben Affleck eventually succumbed to overexposure from the media, however, which caused public interest in their romance to result in less admiration and negatively affected their careers.[103][104] Gigli, a film which Lopez starred as a lesbian opposite Affleck, was released on August 1, 2003. The film was considered a box office failure, and is often considered one of the worst films ever made.[105][106] Once again she starred in another movie with Affleck, Jersey Girl, but only grossed $36 million at the box office and received poor reviews.
Lopez and Affleck canceled their wedding, which had been scheduled for September 14, 2003 on the Californian Coast, citing the media's interference with the event as the reason.[107][108][109] Months later their wedding was canceled once again, four days before the event. Lopez was seen without her ring,[110] and it was later confirmed that the 18-month romance ended on January 20, 2004, just three days after Affleck returned to Los Angeles from the Sundance Film Festival.[111]
2004–05: Shall We Dance?, third marriage and Rebirth
In August 2003, (after the international flub of "Gigli") it was announced that Lopez was star in Shall We Dance?.[112] The move was released in 2004, in which Lopez starred as Paulina alongside Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon; it reached the third spot at the Box Office. Shall We Dance?, grossed $112,238,000, at the international box office. Domestically, Shall We Dance? grossed $57,890,460 and a total of $170,128,460 worldwide.[113] By this time, Lopez was well established as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and the highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood history, though she's never had a film grossing over $100 million in the USA. She was on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the top ten actress salaries in 2002, 2003, and 2004.[10]
Lopez and
Marc Anthony at the Time 100 gala event on May 8, 2006
Two months after her break up with Affleck, Lopez was publicly seen dating Marc Anthony, they were married secretly on June 5, 2004 at her Beverly Hills Mansion and maintained a quiet relationship away from the media unlike her previous.[114][115] Two men attempted to ransom a private wedding video which was stolen from the couple for $1 million dollars, and they were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of conspiracy, attempted grand larceny and possession of stolen property.[116]
Lopez released her fourth studio album, Rebirth, on March 1, 2005.[117] The lead single was "Get Right",[117] reaching 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a dance club hit.[118] The song reached number one in the United Kingdom. The video for "Get Right" has Lopez portraying many different characters in a nightclub and sporting several different looks and occupations.[119] Following the release of "Get Right", the album debuted (and peaked) at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 261,000 copies in its opening week.[120] It quickly fell off the charts, and produced one more single, "Hold You Down", which featured Fat Joe, reached number 64 on the Hot 100 while it peaked at number six in the UK and ascended to the top 20 in Australia.[74] The song "Cherry Pie" was intended to be released as a single, however due to low sales (despite a high start) of Rebirth these plants were scrapped. Rebirth was certified Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA; selling over 700,000 copies so far in the United States,[82] and has enjoyed international success. In May 2005, the film Monster-in-Law was released. It was Jane Fonda's first movie in several years.[121] It featured Lopez as Charlie, an artist who is pitted against her fiance's conniving mother when she does not accept her as her son's girlfriend (or soon-to-be wife).[121][122][123] However, the $43-million film became a box-office smash debuting at number one, earning $83 million ($154.7 worldwide)[124] during its theatrical run in summer 2005. Lopez received $15 million for her role in Monster-in-Law, remaining one of her highest paychecks for a movie yet.[125] Later, she starred in a film entitled An Unfinished Life, which did not do well; only reaching 11 at the Box office.
2006–08: Como Ama una Mujer, Brave and motherhood
In 2006, Lopez was featured in LL Cool J's single "Control Myself", which was released on February 1, 2006. It reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart, Lopez's first collaborative Top 10 Hit in the U.S. since 2003. Also that year, she was in the movie Bodertown; The movie is based on a series of unsolved murders in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a maquiladora border city across the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) from El Paso, Texas. Estimates of the murders conflict, yet, conservatively speaking over four hundred women, maybe many more, have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered since 1993 in and around Ciudad Juárez.[126] Lopez garnered a few awards and recognition for this part. The film was not a large success, though. Jennifer was one of the recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award, after her appearance in Bordertown.[127]
It was reported that Lopez was to release a full Spanish language album.[128] Contactmusic.com said that Lopez would "prove critics wrong" and prove that she actually has a voice, through this new project.[128] Upon the eve of the album's release, Lopez explained that she had previously aimed to sing in Spanish, however her career took a different path.[129] Her first full Spanish album, Como Ama una Mujer was released on March 23, 2007. It debuted at 10 on the Billboard 200, making her one of few to reach the top ten with a Spanish album.[130] The album was a natural and large success within the Latin community, reaching number one on Billboard Top Latin Albums, where it remained for seven weeks.[130] Worldwide, it was a moderate success, reaching the top ten in several countries such as Italy and Germany.
"I thought that my career was going to be in Spanish music, honestly. My life took a different turn, which was great for me. But my heart was always kind of on the Spanish side."
— Jennifer Lopez, on her Spanish music career
[129]
Como Ama una Mujer marks the highest debut sales in the United States for a Spanish album and the highest digital sales for a Spanish album.[131] The York Press, on the album, stated that "Lopez stunned many with her Spanish-language Como Ama una Mujer, which at last proved that she is a major musical force."[132] For promotion of Como Ama Una Mujer, Lopez traveled back to the Bronx, to meet fans and sign copies of her album in her old neighborhood.[133] Over 500 people attended.[133] In an interview, Lopez stated "It touches my heart to be able to bring this album back to my neighborhood, back to my home."[134] Como ama una Mujer produced a single, "Qué Hiciste" (Spanish for "What Did You Do") which peaked at 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Latin Songs and the Hot Dance Club Play.[74] She performed the song on American Idol, in the same week she was a mentor; she is the first person to perform a Latin song on the hit show.[131] On July 24, 2007 (Lopez's birthday) Billboard magazine reported that Lopez and husband Marc Anthony would "co-headline" a worldwide tour called "Juntos en Concierto" starting in New Jersey on September 29.[135] The tour launched September 28, 2007 at the Mark G. Etess Arena and ended on November 7, 2007 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. On the finale date of their tour, Lopez and Anthony announced that they were expecting a child, her first and his fourth.[136][137] Later that same month, it was reported that Lopez was having difficulties with her pregnancy. These reports were deemed false by per rep, stating that "she is very healthy and continuing with her schedule as planned."[138] In August 2007, Lopez collaborated on the feature film, El Cantante, with Anthony. Ms. Lopez, who's also a producer of the film, "does enough acting for the two of them in her role as Puchi, Héctor's wife" while creating a very interesting and edgy performance.[139] The film is in English, with creative use of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics.
In August 2007 Lopez began work on a new English studio album, titled Brave[140][141] For Brave, she collaborated with producers Midi Mafia, J. R. Rotem, Lynn and Wade and Ryan Tedder, with Rotem working on some tracks with writing partner Evan "Kidd" Bogart.[142] Released on October 9, 2007, it debuted at 12 on the Billboard 200; commercially, it is her least successful album to date.[143] It spawned two singles "Do It Well" and "Hold It, Don't Drop It", which both reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, but failed to make further impact.[74] It was her first album to fail to produce a top twenty song. Brave earned mostly mixed to negative reviews, Rashod D. Ollison from The Sun said that "Brave – was not to daring".[144] However, there were a few positive reviews. The York Press compared Brave to Britney Spears' album due for release around the same time.[132] Praising Lopez for not needing digital enhancement of her voice in "Brave" compared to Spears, they turned their favor to Brave instead of Blackout despite praising Spears' for delivering a "decent album".[132] Brave has sold over 160,000 copies (which sales are comparable to that of Lopez' previous first week sales of her first four albums).[82]
On February 5, 2008, Lopez confirmed that she was having twins.[145] On February 22, Lopez gave birth to a son Maximilian David Muñiz and a daughter Emme Maribel in Long Island, New York.[146][147] The twins were introduced in the March 11, 2008 issue of People magazine, for which the magazine paid a reported $6 million for—the photographs of the twins became the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken.[148] Following the birth of her twins, Lopez took a break from her career in 2008.
Lopez and Anthony performing in concert, January 20, 2009.
continued on page 2
| Author: | Bling King |
| Published: | May 26th 2012 |
| Modified: | Feb 27th 2013 |
