Biography

Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez was born in the Bronx, NY, on July 24, 1969; after starting out in musical theater as a child, at age 16 she made her film debut in the little-seen #My Little Girl, but her career then stalled until she was tapped to become one of the dancing "Fly Girls" on the television sketch comedy series #In Living Color. A recurring role on the TV drama #Second Chances followed before Lopez was thrust into the limelight co-starring with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in the 1995 feature film #Money Train; smaller roles in pictures including #My Family/Mi Familia, #Jack, and #Blood and Wine followed before she landed the title role in 1997's #Selena, portraying the slain tejano singer. Co-starring opposite George Clooney in 1998's acclaimed #Out of Sight, Lopez (part of a Puerto Rican family) became the highest-paid Latina actress in Hollywood history; the following summer, she returned to her musical roots with her debut pop album, On the 6, scoring a major hit with the infectious single "If You Had My Love." Lopez didn't waste time perfecting a sophomore effort, the appropriately titled J.Lo, which was issued in early 2001. The following year Lopez released J to tha L-O!: The Remixes and This Is Me...Then, which spawned another hit single, "Jenny from the Block." Although her high-profile romance with Ben Affleck created more headlines than her recording career, her follow-up, 2005's Rebirth -- released just after she married singer Marc Anthony -- was anticipated enough to debut at number two on the ~Billboard 200 album chart. The Spanish-language album Como Ama una Mujer followed in 2007, peaking at number ten on the ~Billboard 200 chart while remaining at the top of the Latin chart for seven consecutive weeks. In October of that same year, Lopez put out a more "traditional" pop album, Brave, followed by an accompanying tour. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide