After placing her career on hiatus, Lopez released her fourth studio album, Rebirth, in February 2005. According to Lopez, Rebirth "came about because I was on such a roller-coaster ride, that was my career from my first album to my last album, and I did a bunch of movie projects in between. I finally took some time just for myself, and [when] I came back, this was the first project I did. I felt like it was a new beginning for me, like I was, in a way, reborn." Tracy Hopkins of NBC's Today Music noted that after "fawning" over Affleck on This Is Me... Then", Lopez "wisely keeps her love life out of the spotlight" on Rebirth and only references her relationship with singer/actor Marc Anthony on a few tracks. The album produced the single "Get Right", which peaked at number one in the United Kingdom. In May, she starred alongside Jane Fonda in the romantic comedy Monster-in-Law, for which she received a salary of $15 million. The film's marketing played up Lopez's "Gigli-and-tabloid tarnished image", and it became a box office success. In August, Lopez starred alongside Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman in An Unfinished Life, a drama film based on the novel of the same name.
Lopez received her first professional acting gig in the direct-to-video drama film Lost in the Wild (1993), co-starring with Lindsay Wagner and Robert Loggia. Later in 1993, Lopez signed a deal with CBS to co-star in the television series Second Chances. Lopez received her first major big-screen role in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama My Family portraying Young Maria. Although her role was uncredited, Lopez received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female nomination for her performance. In November 1995, Lopez starred in Money Train alongside Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as New York City transit cops. In August 1996, Lopez had a supporting role in the comedy Jack.
More InfoVariety critic Owen Gleiberman praised Pitt's performance, explaining, "Gray proves beyond measure that he's got the chops to make a movie like this. He also has a vision, of sorts — one that's expressed, nearly inadvertently, in the metaphor of that space antenna." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone rated the film four out of five stars and referred to it as "absolutely enthralling" and praised Gray for his direction and his unique approach to the science fiction genre, as well as the cinematography and Pitt's performance (whom he referred to as "marvel of nuanced feeling"). He also drew comparisons of the film's tone and themes to other notable films set in space, particularly 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Solaris (1972), Gravity (2013), and Interstellar (2014). Critic Kurt Loder praised the visual effects but criticized the lack of originality and the patchwork style of the script. Adam Graham writing for The Detroit News found problems with the film, giving it a "C" rating: "This is slow, obtuse filmmaking with little emotional connection."
More InfoHaving redefined Lopez's sound with "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", Epic decided to release further remixes in order to "keep the momentum going". A remix album entitled J to tha L–O! The Remixes was subsequently released on February 5, 2002. It debuted at the summit of the Billboard 200, making it the first remix album to do so. Its lead single, "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)", featuring Ja Rule and Caddillac Tah, reached number one in the US. J to tha L–O! The Remixes became one of the best-selling remix albums of all time, selling 1.5 million copies in the US. It produced two more singles: "I'm Gonna Be Alright" and "Alive", a ballad co-written by her husband at the time, Cris Judd. In April 2002, Lopez opened her restaurant, Madrè's. The following month, she starred in the thriller film Enough, which was described by the Boston Herald as a "kick-but, female empowerment" film. While filming Enough, which required an overworked Lopez to practice Krav Maga, she suffered a nervous breakdown. She recalled feeling "sick and weird", refusing therapeutic help or medication. She confessed, "I was like – I don't want to move, I don't want to talk, I don't want to do anything." In September, she released her first fragrance, Glow by JLo. It performed strongly despite predictions that it would fail, and became the top-selling fragrance in the US.
More InfoJennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in The Bronx borough of New York City, to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodríguez and David López. She has an older sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda, a journalist. David worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company before becoming a computer technician at the firm, while Guadalupe was a homemaker. When Lopez was born, the family was living in a small apartment in the Castle Hill neighborhood. 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. At the age of five, Lopez began taking singing and dancing lessons. She toured New York with her school when she was seven years old. 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". Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at Preston High School. In school, Lopez did gymnastics, ran track on a national level, and was a member of the school's softball team. She excelled athletically rather than academically, competing in national track championships.
More InfoWith a cumulative film gross of US$3.1 billion and estimated global sales of 70 million records, Lopez is regarded as the most influential Latin entertainer in the United States. In 2012, Forbes ranked her as the most powerful celebrity in the world, as well as the 38th most powerful woman in the world. Time listed her among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018. Her most successful singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 include: "If You Had My Love", "I'm Real", "Ain't It Funny", "All I Have", and "On the Floor", the lattermost of which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. For her contributions to the recording industry, Lopez has received a landmark star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Billboard Icon Award, and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award among other honors. Her other ventures include clothing lines, fragrances, the production company Nuyorican Productions, and the nonprofit business Lopez Family Foundation.
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