With five film projects in the works for 2022 and a headline-grabbing romance with former flame Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, 52, is once again proving her point: It’s J.Lo’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
In a career that spans nearly 30 years, the dancer /singer/ actress / director / producer has consistently demonstrated that she is a force to be reckoned with, as year after year she redefines her celebrity.
Part of her appeal is her genuineness in interviews and public appearances. With her sweet smile, a lilting laugh which seems to channel sunlight, and down-to-earth demeanor, Lopez could be your — albeit exquisitely dressed — next-door neighbor.
Yet on stage, “Jenny from the Block,” becomes a fierce force of nature, turning from sweet to smoldering on a dime, supremely comfortable in her own skin, and showing no signs of slowing down.
Being an artist doesn’t start because you’re 21, and it doesn’t end because you’re 51. You are who you are until the day you die.
Bronx-born Lopez got her first toe-hold in show business when she was cast as a “Fly Girl” dancer on comedy show In Living Color in 1991.
She moved on to a few small film roles before landing the title role in the acclaimed film Selena, a 1997 biopic of a popular Tex-Mex singer that earned her a Golden Globe nomination and a million-dollar paycheck, making her the highest-paid Latina actress at the time.
But her growing fan base exploded in 1999 when she released her first album, On the 6, which broke new ground in Latin pop music in the United States.
Lopez followed that up with her second album, J.Lo, in 2001, coinciding with her starring role alongside Owen Wilson in The Wedding Planner, and became the first woman to have a number one film and album in the same week.
Suddenly Jennifer Lopez was everywhere — on the radio, in the club, on the silver screen — as her status as a pop culture icon began to solidify.
Several successful films and hit albums followed, as did a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Billboard Icon award, and other accolades leading up to her 2016 to 2018 residency in Las Vegas, titled “Jennifer Lopez: All I Have” which grossed $101.9 million after 120 performances.
And while she worked her magic on stage and screen, Lopez also became a designer, launching highly successful clothing, perfume, and accessory lines which contributed to a net worth Forbes estimates to be around $400 million.
Life’s too short to live the same day twice.
As Lopez enters her 50s, she is uniquely poised, both personally and career-wise, to take her achievements to previously uncharted levels.
In 2019, Lopez embarked on a 32-show tour in celebration of her 50th birthday, performing nationally and internationally from June to mid-August.
In September, Lopez once again donned a version of the infamous, plunging green Versace dress she wore to the Grammy Awards in 2000, making a surprise appearance at Milan Fashion Week that brought down the house.
September also marked the release of Hustlers, with Lopez both producing and starring as hardened stripper Ramona, which drew her some of her best critical reviews yet and grossed $157.6 million worldwide.
In 2020, Lopez kicked off the year with her infamous Superbowl performance, appearing on stage with 12-year-old daughter Emme.
She also was part of Oprah Winfrey’s Visionary Tour, sitting down with the iconic talk-show host at the LA Forum to talk career, family and turning 50 at the end of February
While in quarantine she finished production on her next film, musical romance Marry Me, co-starring Owen Wilson, which is set for release on Valentine’s Day 2022. Lopez also performs on the accompanying soundtrack.
It is said that an object in motion stays in motion, and Lopez is no exception. Throughout her career, she has broken barriers and boundaries and taken her fame to astounding heights through her unique and versatile talent and rigid work ethic, and don’t expect her to let up any time soon. Jennifer Lopez is, quite simply, unstoppable.
