For other uses, see Jennifer Lopez (disambiguation).

"J.Lo" and "JLO" redirect here. For the album, see J.Lo (album). For other uses,
see JLO (disambiguation).

Jennifer Lopez

Lopez in 2019

Born Jennifer Lynn Lopez

July 24, 1969 (age 54)

The Bronx, New York City, U.S.

• J.Lo
Other names
• Jennifer Affleck

Occupations • Singer
• actress
• dancer
• businesswoman

Years active 1986–present

Works • Discography
• songs recorded
• videography
• filmography
• performances
 • Ojani Noa
Spouses

(m. 1997; div. 1998)

• Cris Judd

(m. 2001; div. 2003)

• Marc Anthony

(m. 2004; div. 2014)

• Ben Affleck

(m. 2022)

Children 2

Relatives Lynda Lopez (sister)

Awards Full list

Musical career

Genres • R&B
• pop
• Latin
• hip hop
• dance

Instrument(s) Vocals

Labels • Work
• Epic
 • Island
• Capitol
• Hitco
• BMG

Website jenniferlopez.com

Signature

Jennifer Lynn Affleck[1] (née Lopez; born July 24, 1969[2]), also known by her
nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez
is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, [3] credited with
breaking barriers for Latino Americans in Hollywood and helping propel the Latin pop
movement in music. She is also noted for her impact on popular culture through
fashion, branding, and shifting mainstream beauty standards.

Lopez began her career as a dancer, making her television debut as a Fly Girl on
the sketch comedy series In Living Color in 1991. She later rose to prominence as
an actress, with leading roles in the films Selena (1997), Anaconda (1997) and Out
of Sight (1998) establishing her as the highest-paid Latin actress. She successfully
ventured into the music industry with her debut album On the 6 (1999). In 2001, she
became the first woman to simultaneously have the number one album and film in
the United States with her second album J.Lo and romantic comedy The Wedding
Planner. She has since become known for starring in romantic comedies,
including Maid in Manhattan (2002), Shall We Dance? (2004), and Monster-in-
Law (2005). Lopez released two albums in 2002: J to tha L–O! The
Remixes and This Is Me... Then, the former becoming the first remix album to top the
US Billboard 200.

Media scrutiny and the failure of her film Gigli (2003) preceded a career downturn.
Her subsequent albums included Rebirth (2005) and Como Ama una Mujer (2007);
the latter broke first-week sales records for a debut Spanish album. In 2011, Lopez
returned to prominence as a judge on American Idol and released the album Love?.
In the latter 2010s, she performed a concert residency, starred in the police
drama series Shades of Blue (2016–2018), served as a judge on World of
Dance (2017–2020), and garnered critical praise for her performance in the crime
drama Hustlers (2019). She has since starred in the films Marry Me (2022), The
Mother (2023) and This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024).
With over 80 million records sold, Lopez's most successful singles include: "If You
Had My Love", "Waiting for Tonight", "Let's Get Loud", "Love Don't Cost a Thing",
"I'm Real", "Ain't It Funny", "Jenny from the Block", "All I Have", "Get Right", and "On
the Floor".[4][5] Her accolades include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
the Billboard Icon Award and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. She has
been ranked among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time and
the World's 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes. Her other ventures include
a lifestyle brand, beauty and fashion lines, fragrances, a production company, and
a charitable foundation.

Early life
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in the Bronx, a borough of New
York City, and raised in its Castle Hill neighborhood.[6][7][8] Her parents, David Lopez
and Guadalupe Rodríguez, were born in Puerto Rico and met in New York
City.[9][10] After serving in the Army, David worked as a computer technician
at Guardian Insurance Company.[11] Guadalupe was a homemaker for the first ten
years of Lopez's life and later worked as a Tupperware salesperson[12] and a
kindergarten and gym teacher.[13] They divorced in the 1990s after 33 years of
marriage.[12]

Lopez is a middle child; she has an older sister, Leslie, and a younger
sister, Lynda.[14] The three shared a bedroom.[15] Lopez has described her upbringing
as "strict".[16] She was raised in a Roman Catholic family; she attended Mass every
Sunday and received a Catholic education, attending Holy Family School and the all-
girls Preston High School, a private school.[17] In school, Lopez ran track on a
national level, participated in gymnastics and was on the softball team. [18] She
danced in school musicals and played a lead role in a production of Godspell.[19] She
described herself as a "tomboy" and "very athletic".[20]

There was "lots of music" in the typically Puerto Rican household,[21] and Lopez and
her sisters were encouraged to sing, dance and create their own plays for family
events.[22][23] West Side Story made a particular impression on the young Lopez, who
wanted to be an entertainer from an early age.[17] As a teenager, she learned
flamenco, jazz and ballet at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club[17] and taught dance to
younger students, including Kerry Washington.[24] After graduating from high school,
she had a part-time secretarial job at a law firm and studied business at New
York's Baruch College for one semester.[25][26] At age 18, she enrolled as a full-time
student at Manhattan's Phil Black Dance Studio, where she had already taken night
classes in jazz and tap dance.[16][15][17] Her parents were unhappy with her decision to
leave college to pursue a dance career. According to Lopez, her parents felt it was
"foolish" because "no Latinas did that".[19] Her mother asked her to move out of the
family home and they stopped speaking for eight months.[22][27] Lopez moved to
Manhattan, sleeping in the dance studio's office for the first few months. [16][15][17]