Jennifer Lopez
Real Name: Jennifer Lynn Lopez
Date of Birth: 24 July 1969
Place of birth: Bronx, New York
Profession: Entertainer
Jennifer Lopez is the middle child, having an older and younger sister. She was born in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx in New York. All three of the Lopez sisters have an niche for entertainment. Her older sister, Leslie, is a part-time opera singer, while her younger sister, Lynda, is a VJ on VH1 and radio DJ in New York City.
If you think she has a unique look, sound and personality, there is a real reason you are right. Her parents are from European decent but both were born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the second largest Puerto Rican city. Ironically, both families later moved to United States during their childhoods, and the two eventually met while living in New York City. As a child, Jennifer Lopez was saturated with diverse muscial influences, mainly Afro-Caribbean rhythms like salsa, merengue and bachata, and mainstream music like Pop, Hip hop and R&B.
A New York girl of Puerto Rican descent, Lopez enjoyed great success as an actress before emerging in the late 90s as one of the new wave of Latin pop stars, alongside leading male singers Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias. As a child Lopez appeared in musical theatre, before making her film debut as a 16 year old in the movie My Little Girl. Her break into television came in 1990 when she won a dance contest to become a Fly Girl on the Fox television comedy series In Living Color. Further television work ensued, including appearances in the series Second Chances and Hotel Malibu (credited on both as Melinda Lopez), the short-lived South Central and a television movie Nurses On The Line: The Crash Of Flight 7 (1993). She made her first major big screen appearance opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in 1995’s Money Train, before working with director Gregory Nava on My Family, Mi Familia. Her experience on the latter led indirectly to the high-profile role of murdered Tejano star Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 biopic Selena. Now considered a major player in Hollywood, Lopez’s acclaimed appearance opposite George Clooney in 1998’s Out Of Sight made her the highest paid Latin actress in history.
However, it was her role in Selena that led to the revival of her music career. Major label backing, heavyweight producers of the calibre of Emilio Estefan, Rodney Jerkins and Sean “Puffy” Combs, and the attendant crossover success of Martin and Iglesias, made 1999’s On The 6 one of the summer’s most hotly anticipated releases. The album, named after the train line the young Lopez used to take into the city, was a predictable commercial success. The first single “If You Had My Love” (produced by Jerkins), topped the US charts for five weeks. The follow-up, “Waiting For Tonight”, was also a transatlantic hit. The album’s other tracks, most of which were co-written by executive producer Corey Rooney, included “Feelin’ So Good” (featuring cameos from rappers Fat Joe and Big Punisher), a duet with Marc Anthony on “No Me Ames” and the Trackmasters-produced “Should Have Never”.
