Early life
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in New York's Bronx borough to Puerto Rican parents David and Guadalupe. Although her mother, a kindergarten teacher, and her father, a computer specialist, wanted her to be a strict student, Jennifer was passionate about pursuing an extraordinary life in the arts from a young age. She wanted to sing, to dance, to act and in short, wanted to be famous.
Big break
At 17, Jennifer landed a place at Manhattan's Phil Black Dance Studio, and in 1991, she got her first big break when she was chosen as a dancer on the US TV show, In Living Colour. The occasional film and TV role followed, but it wasn't until the 1997 eponymously titled bio-pic about murdered Latin American singer Selena that J.Lo really hit the big time, becoming the first Latina actress to earn $1 million for a role. She has since gone on to star in many more high-profile movies, including: Anaconda, The Wedding Planner, Hustlers and Marry Me.
Singing success
Mindful however of the fact that she also didn't want to lose her musical roots, in the late 90s Jennifer had a friend help her secure a meeting with Tommy Mottola, the then-president of Sony Records. Impressed by her demo, he signed her up, and in 1998 she started work on her debut album, On The 6 which went platinum in the States within months of hitting the stores.
Her next effort, J Lo, was released in January 2001, with the single 'My Love Don't Cost A Thing', hitting the number one spot in the UK. In 2011 she joined the judging cast of American Idol. She earned herself a successful Las Vegas concert residency from 2016 to 2018, and headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2020.
Personal life
Over the years, J.Lo has been linked to several high profile actors from her varied industry career. But her first long-term relationship was with her high school sweetheart David Cruz, with whom she was together until the mid-90s. After a short-lived marriage to waiter Ojani Noa and a "tumultuous" relationship with record producer Sean Combs, Jennifer next settled down with her former backup dancer Cris Judd.
Cris and Jennifer were married from September 2001 to January 2003, but before their divorce was finalized, the This Is Me... Now star had begun dating Ben Affleck. This romance ended in 2004, the same year Jennifer would go on to marry singer Marc Anthony, with whom she was married until 2014. But Jennifer and Ben would go on to rekindle their relationship in 2021, and married in July 2022.
Jennifer has two children, twins Max and Emme, who she shares with her third husband Marc Anthony and co-parents in a blended family with her Batman star husband. Her twins were born in 2008.
