Moore's film career took off in 1984 following her appearance in the sex comedy Blame It on Rio. She portrayed Laura Victor in the comedy film No Small Affair (1984), opposite Jon Cryer. Her commercial breakthrough came in Joel Schumacher's yuppie drama St. Elmo's Fire (1985), which received negative reviews, but was a box office success and brought Moore to international recognition. Because of her association with that film, Moore was often listed as part of the Brat Pack, a label she felt was "demeaning". She progressed to more serious material with About Last Night... (1986), co-starring Rob Lowe, which marked a positive turning point in her career, as Moore noted that, following its release, she began seeing better scripts. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and praised her performance, writing, "There isn't a romantic note she isn't required to play in this movie, and she plays them all flawlessly." The success of About Last Night... was unrivaled by Moore's other two 1986 releases, One Crazy Summer and Wisdom, the last youth-oriented films in which she would star. She was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38.
Lopez 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 InfoDescribed 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 InfoIn 1996, Moore became the highest-paid actress in film history when she received a then unprecedented $12.5 million to star in Striptease. A major critical and financial failure, it marked the beginning of a lengthy downturn in Moore's career. Following starring roles in The Scarlet Letter (1995), The Juror (1996) and G.I. Jane (1997), all of which were critical and commercial disappointments, marked the end of Moore's career as a leading lady in Hollywood. She has since appeared in supporting roles in such films as; The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Bobby (2006), Mr. Brooks (2007), Margin Call (2011), and Rough Night (2017). In 2019, Moore released a memoir titled Inside Out, which became a New York Times Best Seller.Moore has been married three times, to the musician Freddy Moore and the actors Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher. She has three daughters with Willis, including actress Rumer Willis.
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.
More InfoLopez is considered a global icon, and is often described as a triple threat performer. VH1 ranked her at number 15 on their list of 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons, number 16 on 100 Greatest Women In Music, and number 21 on 50 Greatest Women of the Video Era. Lopez has been cited as an influence or inspiration by a range of entertainers, including Jessica Alba, Adrienne Bailon, Kat DeLuna, Mike Doughty, Fifth Harmony, Becky G, Selena Gomez, Ryan Guzman, Kelly Key, Q'orianka Kilcher, Demi Lovato, Normani, Pitbull, Francia Raisa, Cierra Ramirez Naya Rivera, Bebe Rexha, Rosa Salazar, Gwen Stefani, Stooshe, and Kerry Washington.
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