Famed for her distinct style and fashion sense, Us Weekly named Lopez "Style Icon" of the 2000s decade. In 2019, the Council of Fashion Designers of America presented her with its Fashion Icon Award for her "long-standing and global impact on fashion". The Green Versace "Jungle Dress" that Lopez wore at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000 was voted the fifth most iconic red carpet dress of all time in a poll run by The Daily Telegraph. The images of Lopez wearing the dress became the most popular search query of all time at that point, and subsequently led to the creation of Google's image search. Her style has influenced a range of celebrities, including Kelly Rowland, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her record-breaking fragrance line has become the most successful celebrity line in the world, with sales exceeding $2 billion as of 2012. Her first fragrance, Glow by JLo, has been credited with influencing the rise of celebrity fragrances in the 2000s, with perfume critic Chandler Burr stating: "Elizabeth Taylor was one of the first [to have her own scent], but Glow kicked the whole thing into overdrive." Following the success of Lopez's appointment as a judge on American Idol in 2010, a trend of networks hiring "big names" for judging panels on reality shows ensued. The Hollywood Reporter branded this "The J.Lo Effect".
Described as autobiographical, much of Lopez's music has centered around the "ups and downs" of love. The lyrical content of This Is Me... Then is largely focused on her relationship with Ben Affleck, with the song "Dear Ben" being described as the album's "glowing centerpiece". Her first full-length Spanish-language album, Como Ama una Mujer features introspective lyrics about romance, heartache and self-loathing. When explaining her seventh studio album Love?, Lopez stated: "There's still so much to learn and that's why the question mark." Other recurrent themes in Lopez's music have included her upbringing in the Bronx and women's empowerment.
More InfoLopez next starred in the film Hustlers (2019), for which she also served as an executive producer. Directed by Lorene Scafaria, the film is inspired by a true story, following a group of Manhattan strippers who con wealthy men. Lopez's portrayal of a veteran stripper in Hustlers garnered acclaim from critics, with some deeming it the best performance of her acting career. The film also gave Lopez her highest opening weekend at the box office for a live action film (grossing $33.2 million), and garnered her nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. The success of Hustlers has been regarded by various media outlets as a comeback for Lopez. Also in September 2019, Lopez modeled an updated version of her Green Versace dress at Milan Fashion Week; her appearance generated $31.8 million in total media impact value. Following this, she launched her twenty-fifth fragrance, which is titled Promise, and was announced as the global face of the Coach brand.
More InfoLopez is regarded as the most influential Hispanic performer in the United States, credited with breaking ethnic barriers in the entertainment industry. In 1999, The Record newspaper observed that she was responsible for the introduction of a Latina presence in the film industry, which was a "whites-only preserve" for much of its history. Described as a "multidimensional artist who had turned into a financial powerhouse", Lopez became the highest-paid actress of Hispanic descent in history. Miriam Jiménez Román stated in The Afro-Latin Reader: History and Culture in the United States (2009) that "[she] was able to traverse the difficult racial boundaries". In 2012, business magazine Forbes suggested that Lopez "may be the most powerful entertainer on the planet", and named her "the world's most powerful Latino celebrity".
More InfoIn 2009, Lopez launched the Lopez Family Foundation (originally known as the Maribel Foundation) alongside her sister, Lynda. The nonprofit organization seeks to increase the availability of healthcare for underprivileged women and children, offering a telemedicine program supported by a partnership with the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The foundation has led to the expansion of medical facilities in Panama and Puerto Rico, and created the Center for a Healthy Childhood at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
More InfoUpon launching her music career in the late 1990s, Lopez contributed to the "Latin explosion" occurring in entertainment at the time. Writing for The Recording Academy, Brian Haack described her as the "breakout female star" of the Latin pop movement in American music. She was featured on the cover of the first issue of Latina magazine in 1996, with editor Galina Espinoza stating in 2011 that there is "no recounting of modern Latina history without Jennifer". Around the time her career began to burgeon, the emphasis on Lopez's curvaceous figure grew; scholar Sean Redmond wrote that this was a sign of her role and social power in the cultural changes occurring in the United States. In August 2005, Time listed Lopez as one of the most influential Hispanics in America, remarking: "Why? Because over a decade ago, she was an anonymous background dancer on the second-rated sketch-comedy show. Today she's known by two syllables." In February 2007, People en Español named her the most influential Hispanic entertainer. In 2014, scientists named a species of aquatic mite found in Puerto Rico, Litarachna lopezae, after Lopez.
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