Lopez's first greatest hits album, Dance Again... the Hits, was released on July 24, 2012 in the United States. It was released by Epic Records, as Lopez owed them one final album to end her contract, despite previously announcing that she had fulfilled her contract with the label. Lopez, who was going through a divorce with Anthony and the "breakup of a family", felt as if the album's sole single, "Dance Again", had come to her at the "perfect moment". "Dance Again" and "Goin' In", a single from the soundtrack of the dance film Step Up Revolution, both reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, giving Lopez her twelfth and thirteenth number one on that chart, respectively. nuvoTV announced in September its premier partnership with Lopez, that will see her work on the creative side of the network, managing marketing and program production with her production company, Nuyorican Productions, as well as periodically appearing in network programming.
Lopez's third studio album, This Is Me... Then, was released on November 25, 2002. It was dedicated to actor Ben Affleck, her fiancé at the time. The album's lead single "Jenny from the Block", was later described by Sam Lansky of MTV News as her most iconic single. In the song, Lopez "intones her modest childhood roots". The album itself performed strongly, selling 2.6 million copies in the US. Its second single, "All I Have", peaked at number one in the US. That December, Lopez starred opposite Ralph Fiennes in the romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan, which became the highest-grossing film of her career.
More InfoL'Oréal Paris named Lopez their new Global Ambassador and the face of their brands, including EverPure hair care, Preference hair color and Youth Code skin care. Her EverSleek hair care ads made their debut in early 2011, to coincide with the release of Love? and her debut as a judge on American Idol. To further promote her comeback, in February, Venus chose Lopez as their new Global Ambassador. Lopez's comeback single "On the Floor" was released later that same month. The song topped the charts across the globe, becoming one of the most successful singles of the year. The song also became her highest charting single commercially as a lead artist, as well as her most successful airplay hit on contemporary hit radio, since "Jenny from the Block". Love?, which was released in May, was a moderate commercial success, and was viewed as a humble comeback from Lopez, as many had considered her recording career over. Lopez launched her next fragrance Love and Light in July, exclusively on HSN. 51,000 bottles of the fragrance were sold at its premiere, becoming Lopez's most successful fragrance launch to date, making over $2.9 million. In September, Lopez launched the Jennifer Lopez Collection, a clothing and accessories line for Kohl's with Tommy Hilfiger. In addition to the clothing line, she also launched the Jennifer Lopez Home Collection, featuring bedding, towels and luggage. Later that same month Fiat, an Italian automobile manufacturer, enlisted Lopez to promote their products, including the 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio. Olivier Francois, the Chrysler chief marketing officer, stated that she "fits perfectly with the brand".
More InfoDuring the process of recording her second album, Lopez decided to tweak her image as she began to develop into a sex symbol. She started going by J.Lo, something fans often called her in the years after director Oliver Stone coined the term on the set of the 1997 film U Turn. She subsequently named the album J.Lo. Released on January 23, 2001, it was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200. During the same week, her romantic comedy film The Wedding Planner in which she starred opposite Matthew McConaughey opened atop the box office. This made her the first woman to have a number one film and album simultaneously in the United States. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", which reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. It was followed by the single "Play". In April 2001, Lopez launched J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez, her own clothing and accessory company. Lopez felt that "the voluptuous woman [was] almost ignored" in the fashion industry, and therefore her company specialized in clothing women of all shapes. The following month, she starred in the romantic drama film Angel Eyes, which performed disappointingly at the box office and generated mixed reviews. After several months, J.Lo was declining on the charts; this prompted Mottola to recruit rapper Ja Rule to create an urban-oriented remix of the song "I'm Real". This led to the release of "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", which quickly reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Its success resulted in J.Lo being reissued to include the single, which was number one in the United States during the week of the September 11 attacks. J.Lo became the best-selling album of Lopez's career, having sold 3.8 million copies in the US and moved over 12 million units worldwide.
More InfoLopez was selected as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block in 1991 and performed with them during their performance of "Games" at the 18th Annual American Music Awards. Shortly after, Lopez gained her first regular high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television program In Living Color. She applied for the job after one of the cast members was unable to continue with the show. Out of 2,000 applicants, Lopez made it to the finals. She was the runner-up but eventually received the role when the winner was unable to accept the job. She moved to Los Angeles to film the series and remained a regular cast member until 1993, when she decided to pursue a full-time acting career. Prior to leaving the show, Lopez briefly worked as a backup dancer for American recording artist Janet Jackson. Lopez was set to tour with Jackson on her Janet World Tour in late 1993 but backed out as she wanted to do her "own thing".
More InfoLopez 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.
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