JENNIFER LOPEZ'S LIFE STORY

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in the Castle Hill section of the South Bronx in New York, USA. She is the middle of three sisters. Her older sister, Leslie, is a homemaker and is a talented opera singer. Her younger sister, Lynda is an entertainment consultant for New York's Channel 11, a DJ on New York’s WKTU and a VH1 VeeJay.  Jennifer's parents, Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez, were both born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the second largest city in Puerto Rico. The two then moved to the United States in their respective childhoods, and eventually hooked up while living in New York City. Her father was a computer technician by trade and her mother was a Kindergarten teacher.

While Jennifer is of Puerto Rican descent her paternal grandmother's parents were Europeans who settled on the island of Puerto Rico. Her mother's parents were also Europeans that settled in Puerto Rico. She often credits her parents' strong work ethic that they passed on to her that has made a difference in her life.  

Jennifer knew she wanted to be a performer even from a very young age. She religiously attended singing and dancing lessons from the tender age of 5.  For her regular education, she attended 12 years of Catholic school, including an all-girl high school. While in school she was very athletic. She played on the school softball team and tennis team. She also participated extensively in gymnastics.

As a child Jennifer enjoyed a wide variety of musical types. She especially loved the Afro-Caribbean rhythm types of music such as Salsa, Merengue and Bachata. However, Jennifer also had an ear for the more mainstream music such as Pop, Hip-Hop and R&B.

As a youth, Jennifer was also drawn to the film industry. She says her biggest influence was the Rita Moreno starring musical, West Side Story.

Jennifer Lopez developed a desire to be a multi-faceted entertainer very early in her life. To achieve this she held various jobs by day, including a stint at a law firm, and auditioned and trained in dance by night. At age 18 she moved from her parent’s home to pursue her dreams full time. She claims her mother would often pepper her with reality and often tried to reign in her ambitions of performing. In her mother’s defense, most youth with “stars in their eyes” rarely are ever able to make it in the business. However, Jennifer would go on to defy the odds.

Jennifer began her professional career when she landed a spot in the chorus of Synchronicity, a musical that played in Japan. This show was produced by the famous choreographer, singer and dancer Hinton Battle. She then landed a role in the Golden Musicals of Broadway touring Europe. She also appeared in a couple of regional productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Oklahoma. At age 16 Jennifer appeared in My Little Girl playing the role of Myra.

Jennifer’s first big break came when she auditioned for and won a spot on the Wayans brother’s comedy “In Living Color.” She won the spot auditioning against 2000 other dancers. Not too bad. Jennifer was cast as one of the Fly Girls, a super hot dance troupe that performed on the show. The group was choreographed by famous choreographer/actress Rosie Perez. This job put Jennifer on the map as a dancer and soon she was able to land a gig dancing backup for Janet Jackson on the side.

While Jennifer was shaking her “money-maker” during the commercial intervals on "In Living Color", one of her co-workers whose husband was writing and producing a new show entitled "South Central" for Fox, suggested her for a part. Lopez won the role and was seen as a recurring character there, where she portrayed Lucy, who worked in the market. The show was practically over before it started, but it did pave the Jenniefer’s way into a two more short lived TV series. The "Melinda Lopez" character, which Lopez portrayed in CBS's Second Chances, co-starring Connie Selleca and Megan Fallows, was so popular that it was continued on into Aaron Spelling's series, "Malibu Road."

Jennifer was offered but refused a development deal offered by CBS, because she wanted to pursue a film career. Lopez last role that brought her television career to end was the heroic nurse Rosie in "Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7" which aired in 1993. The call of the big screen then beckoned to her. Jennifer Lopez next appeared in Gregory Nava's critically acclaimed "Mi Famillia," in 1995. The film focused on the lives of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles from the 1930s up until the present.

In this role, Jennifer Lopez was able to introduce her talent to top filmmakers. Following this movie, she landed a role in Joseph Ruben's "Money Train," a blockbuster action film. Costars Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes were trashed by critics for their performance, but Lopez won acclaim for her portrayal of "Grace Santiago". Next, Lopez costarred as Robin Williams' Latina teacher in Francis Ford Coppola's "Jack", after beating out actresses such as Ashley Judd and Lauren Holly.

Then Jennifer landed the role that earned her the most attention yet. Gregory Nava asked Lopez to audition as part of nationwide search for the title role for "Selena", the movie about the life of slain Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla Perez. No stranger to the pressures of auditioning, she stepped up, nailed her mark and won the role. She would even go on to earn a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical Actress for her work. 

Jennifer Lopez thrust into spotlight with her performance in "Selena", and increased her Hollywood stock considerably. Jennifer was now squarely in the spotlight and would go on to star in blockbuster after blockbuster. Click here to see more about the movies in which she has appeared.

All along, Jennifer knew that she wanted to pursue a music career as well. This dream culminated in the release of “On the 6” on June 1, 1999. Her debut album went on to sell over 3 million copies. Since then she has released three more albums as well as a well-received remix album that is a hit on the dance club scene. For more information about her music, click here.

Despite being a overachieving professional, Jennifer Lopez has also found time to engage in some of the most talked about romantic relationships in Hollywood. She has most famously been linked to rapper/producer P.Diddy, actor Ben Affleck (remember “Bennifer”) and is currently wed to singer Marc Anthony. The two exchanged nuptials in a storied and secretive way that remained a mystery to the press for months after it occurred. The two have since gone public and have been quoted as saying they are planning to have children at some point.