In September 2007, Lopez starred in the biographical film El Cantante, which is based on the life of the late salsa singer Héctor Lavoe. In the film, Lavoe is portrayed by then-husband Marc Anthony while Lopez plays Lavoe's wife Puchi. Lopez revealed that she felt her performance in the film El Cantante should have earned her an Oscar. "I feel like I had that [Oscar worthy role] in 'El Cantante,' but I don't think the academy members saw it". El Cantante did not perform well at the box office, earning just $7.6 million. Lopez performed the song "Toma de Mí" for the film's soundtrack. Lopez and Anthony also launched their co-headlining North American concert tour on September 28. Lopez's sixth studio album Brave, released in October, was her lowest-charting album worldwide. The album produced two singles, "Do It Well" and "Hold It Don't Drop It". The first peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the latter failed to make any significant impact on the charts. A five-part miniseries, Jennifer Lopez Presents: Como Ama una Mujer, based on the lyrics of Como Ama una Mujer aired on Univision from October 30 to November 27, 2007. She placed her career on hiatus after giving birth to twins in February 2008. In late 2009, Lopez released two songs for her seventh studio album, Love? ("Louboutins" and "Fresh Out of the Oven"); however, the songs failed to make an appearance on the Billboard charts which led to her departure from Epic Records.
Lopez 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 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 InfoAfter starring in Gigli (2003), a critical and commercial failure, Lopez subsequently starred in the successful romantic comedies Shall We Dance? (2004) and Monster-in-Law (2005). Her fifth studio album, Como Ama una Mujer (2007), received the highest first-week sales for a debut Spanish album in the United States. Following an unsuccessful period, she returned to prominence in 2011 with her appearance as a judge on American Idol, and released her seventh studio album Love?. From 2016 to 2018, she starred in the crime drama series Shades of Blue and performed a residency show, Jennifer Lopez: All I Have, at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas. Since 2017, Lopez has produced and served as a judge on World of Dance. In 2019, she garnered critical acclaim for her performance as a stripper in the crime drama Hustlers.
More InfoAfter 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.
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.
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