Jennifer Lopez, also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress, dancer, model, fashion and perfume designer, and film and television producer from The Bronx, New York. Her music spans contemporary R&B, dance, dance-pop, electro house, electronic and Latin styles, and she is associated with HITCO. She is also linked with Artists Against AIDS Worldwide and The J.lo Band.

Early life and career beginnings

Lopez is born in 1969 and grows up in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez. She has two sisters, Lynda and Leslie. At 16, she begins paying for singing and dancing lessons herself. After leaving college, she focuses on dance while working in a law office, taking classes and performing in Manhattan clubs at night. She first appears on television as a video girl for MC Hammer and also appears on the American Music Awards. Her first major regular television role is as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color in 1990, after being rejected twice for the part.

Music career

Her debut album, On the 6, is released in 1999 and refers to the subway line she uses in childhood. It reaches the Billboard 200 top ten and includes the Billboard Hot 100 number one single “If You Had My Love” and the top ten hit “Waiting for Tonight”. The album also includes “No Me Ames”, a Spanish-language duet with Marc Anthony that reaches number one on the US Hot Latin Tracks, and “Feelin’ So Good”, which features Big Pun and Fat Joe. “Waiting for Tonight” and “Let’s Get Loud” each receive Grammy nominations for Best Dance Recording, while “No Me Ames” receives two Latin Grammy nominations.

Her second album, J.Lo, is released in 2001 and debuts at number one on the Billboard 200. Around the same time, The Wedding Planner reaches number one at the box office, making her the first actor-singer to have a film and an album at number one in the same week. The album produces “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”, her first UK number one, as well as “Play”. “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny” are later remixed with Ja Rule and Caddillac Tah, and both remixes reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. She later reissues the album with the “I’m Real” remix as a bonus track.

In 2002 she releases J to tha L-O! The Remixes, which debuts at number one on the Billboard 200 and becomes the first remix album to open at the top of that chart. It includes remixes and rare dance and hip hop versions of earlier singles, with guest appearances by P. Diddy, Fat Joe and 50 Cent. It becomes one of the best-selling remix albums of all time.

This Is Me... Then follows in 2002 and reaches number two on the Billboard 200. Its singles include “Jenny from the Block”, featuring Jadakiss and Styles, “All I Have”, featuring LL Cool J, “I’m Glad” and “Baby I Love U!”. The album also includes a cover of Carly Simon’s “You Belong to Me”.

Rebirth is released in 2005 and reaches number two on the Billboard 200. It includes “Get Right”, which becomes a top fifteen hit in the United States and her second UK number one, and “Hold You Down”, featuring Fat Joe. The album is certified platinum in the US.

She appears on LL Cool J’s “Control Myself” in 2006, which reaches number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK. In 2007 she releases her first full Spanish-language album, Como Ama Una Mujer, produced by Marc Anthony and Estefano, with “Qué Hiciste” co-produced by Anthony and Julio Reyes. The album reaches number ten on the Billboard 200 and tops the US Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts. “Qué Hiciste” reaches number one on Hot Latin Songs and Hot Dance Club Play and is the first Spanish-language video to top MTV’s Total Request Live daily countdown. The follow-up single is “Me Haces Falta”.

Later in 2007 she releases Brave, her fifth English-language studio album and sixth studio album overall. Its lead single is “Do It Well”, and “Hold It, Don’t Drop It” is issued in some European countries. She also co-headlines the “Juntos en Concierto” tour with Marc Anthony, mixing her current material, older songs and Spanish-language music.

In 2009 she releases “Louboutins”, written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, and it tops the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. She leaves Epic Records in 2010 and later releases Love? in 2011. The album includes “On the Floor”, featuring Pitbull, which reaches number one in 27 countries and is certified triple platinum in the United States, along with “I’m Into You”, featuring Lil Wayne, and “Papi”. In 2012 she releases “Dance Again”, featuring Pitbull, and later releases the greatest hits set Dance Again... The Hits. In 2014 she releases AKA, which includes “Booty”.

Film, television and other work

Lopez appears in numerous films and wins ALMA Awards for outstanding actress for Selena, Out of Sight and Angel Eyes. She also becomes involved in fashion and fragrance through her own line and perfume ranges. She joins the judging panel of American Idol in 2010 and later returns to the show. She also works on the talent series ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen with Marc Anthony and choreographer Jamie King, travelling across Latin America to find new performers.

Her first children, twins Max and Emme, are born in 2008.