Jennifer Lopez

Tue 27th Jan - 6:30PM

She sings, dances, acts and her entourage is more impressive than her famous behind. Thrice married J-Lo reveals how she went from plain backing dancer to diamond-encrusted diva.

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Jennifer Lynn Lopez
born: 24-07-1969
birth place: Bronx, New York, USA.

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe (a kindergarten teacher) and David a computer specialist. Lopez and her two sisters Leslie and Lynda grew up in a small apartment where their mother encouraged them to entertain each other with theatrical performances in the front room.

With a taste for the limelight, Lopez began singing and dancing lessons from the age of five and ignored academic studies at school, instead preferring to pursue sports and the arts. At age of 16 Lopez won her first film role in My Little Girl (1987) and while it failed to kick start her career immediately, it gave her a taste of the fame game.

After graduating from high school, Lopez enrolled at Baruch College in Manhattan and also worked in a legal office to fund her dance and singing progression. Her college life only lasted one term before she dropped out to concentrate on her career dream and she began auditioning for dance roles. Lopez was eventually selected as a dancer for various music videos and scored her biggest break as a backing dancer in Janet Jackson's That's The Way Love Goes video in 1993.

Her first screen role was in the made-for-TV-series Nurses on the line The Crash of Flight 7, followed by a first-time film role in the drama My Family in 1995 and Money Train in the same year. Starring with Robin Williams in Francis Ford Coppola's comedy drama Jack (1996) propelled Lopez further up the A-list ladder.

1997 was to be a big year for Lopez both personally and professionally. Firstly came a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her turn in the film Selena and she also met Ojani Noa, a waiter at a Miami restaurant. At the wrap party for Selena, Noa grabbed the microphone and offered a Lopez a diamond ring in the middle of the dance floor. Lopez accepted and the pair married the same year but were divorced by January 1998. The relationship between the two remained amicable after their split but Lopez eventually sued Noa in a bid to prevent him from publishing a book containing personal details of their marriage.

Career-wise, things were looking up still. After the somewhat questionable Anaconda (1997) with Jon Voight, which did well at the box office despite being panned by critics, it was to be Steven Soderburgh's Out of Sight in 1998 that was to truly highlight Lopez's potential. Starring alongside George Clooney, the film’s success saw both stars suddenly being taken seriously (with Clooney also trying to establish himself as a film actor after a long stint in the TV series, ER).

Lopez's profile was now sky high. Out Of Sight had worked its magic and thanks to a big entrance at the Oscars ceremony that year she scored a modelling contract with L'Oreal.

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Links relating to this biography:
Jennifer Lopez Site