1989–1996: Professional dancing and early acting roles Lopez's first professional job came in 1989 when she spent five months touring Europe with the musical revue show
Golden Musicals of Broadway. She was upset at being the only member of the
chorus not to have a solo, and later characterized it as a pivotal moment where she had to "try harder and become that much more committed". and traveled around Japan for four months as a chorus member in
Synchronicity. She also traveled around America with regional productions of the musicals
Jesus Christ Superstar and
Oklahoma!. During this period, Lopez also danced in music videos including
Doug E. Fresh's "Summertime", Richard Rogers' "Can't Stop Loving You",
EPMD's "
Rampage", and
Samantha Fox's "
(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On". Lopez stated: "I'd dance in a piece-of-garbage rap or pop video for 50 bucks and make the money last a whole month." Her most high-profile job as a professional dancer was as a
Fly Girl jazz-funk dancer on the sketch comedy television series
In Living Color. The show's choreographer,
Rosie Perez said she chose Lopez because "she had that look that I knew the audience would tune in to". Lopez moved to Los Angeles in late 1991 for the job; she filmed
In Living Color during the day and attended acting classes taught by Aaron Speiser at night. Music industry executives expressed interest in giving Lopez a record deal, but she chose to focus on acting. She hired
In Living Color producer Eric Gold as her manager. He advised Lopez to lose weight if she wanted to succeed as an actress. Lopez's first professional acting job was a small recurring role on the television show
South Central (1994). She was invited to audition for the pilot by a casting director who had seen her speak to camera during a behind-the-scenes
In Living Color segment. She subsequently appeared in the television film
Lost in the Wild (1993). For her first major movie role, in
Gregory Nava's 1995 drama
Mi Familia, Lopez received a nomination for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress. She then starred in the action comedy
Money Train (1995). The film was not a box office success, though her performance was reviewed positively, which led to her being further noticed in Hollywood. In 1996, Lopez had a supporting role opposite
Robin Williams in the comedy
Jack, which director
Francis Ford Coppola cast her in after seeing her performance in
Mi Familia.
1997–1999: Breakthrough with Selena and On the 6 With her casting as the singer
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in the biopic
Selena (1997), Lopez became the first Latina actress to earn $1 million. She described her salary for the film as a "statement to the world", but expressed disappointment that other Latina actors were not being afforded the same opportunities. Despite having previously worked with the film's director Gregory Nava on
Mi Familia, Lopez participated in an intense auditioning process and spent time with the late singer's family in
Corpus Christi, Texas before filming began.
Selena was a box office hit, and Lopez's performance received critical acclaim.
Roger Ebert of the
Chicago Sun-Times described it as "a star-making performance" and wrote: "She has the star presence to look convincing in front of 100,000 fans." Lopez received her first
Golden Globe nomination for the performance. Nava asked the heads of Warner Bros. to fund an Academy Award campaign for Lopez but was told the academy would "never nominate a Latina." Later in 1997, Lopez starred opposite
Ice Cube in the horror film
Anaconda, which received negative reviews from critics but was a box office success.
Joe Leydon of
Variety found the film "silly" but said it deserved "a little credit" for being "the first movie of its kind to have a Latina and an African-American" as its stars. In the crime film
U Turn (1997), Lopez appeared topless in a sex scene that was added by director
Oliver Stone during filming. Speaking in 2003, Lopez said it was not something "I would have chosen to do" and that she and Stone fought over it: "It's hard being the only woman on a set." Cast as a deputy federal marshal who falls for a charming criminal, she won rave reviews for her performance. Turan of the
Los Angeles Times described Lopez as "an actress who can be convincingly tough and devastatingly erotic" and said the film solidified "her position as a woman you can confidently build a film around." In 2021, Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian named Lopez and Clooney's partnership as one of the best examples of on-screen chemistry in cinema history. Also in 1998, Lopez provided the voice of Azteca in the animated film
Antz. Her new manager
Benny Medina sought to position her as "a brand name that will cross over into all media." recorded a Spanish-language demo for circulation among prospective labels. With Lopez being a high-profile personality, a bidding war ensued.
Tommy Mottola, the head of
Sony Music's
Work Group, signed her but suggested that she sing in English instead. Her record deal with Sony was described as "lucrative", having outbid other offers from
Capitol Records and
EMI Latin. While Lopez worked on her debut album, Sony "began a major push" to feature her with other high-profile entertainers, leading her to appear in the
Sean Combs music video "
Been Around the World" (1997). was met with positive reviews and further propelled her public profile. The album was a success and Lopez's debut single, "
If You Had My Love", topped the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks,
2000–2002: Box office success, J.Lo and This Is Me... Then In February 2000, Lopez and then-boyfriend
Sean Combs attended the
Grammy Awards, with Lopez wearing a plunging
green Versace silk chiffon dress. The dress generated worldwide attention and became the most popular search query in Google's history, leading to the creation of
Google Images, while boosting Lopez's album and movie ticket sales. Later that year, Lopez starred in the psychological thriller
The Cell, for which she received a $4 million salary. David Edelstein of
Slate remarked that the "imperious" Lopez was "trying to look waifishly expectant" while Amy Taubin of
The Village Voice noted that she appeared to be engaged "in some kind of pouting competition" "in lieu of acting." In January 2001, Lopez became the first woman to have a number-one film and album simultaneously in the United States, with the release of her second album,
J.Lo, and her first romantic comedy
The Wedding Planner, which co-starred
Matthew McConaughey. Lopez had been searching for a romantic comedy role for several years; she wanted to show that she could be "every girl", stating: "I felt like all the women in romantic comedies always looked the same way, they were always white." Despite negative reviews, the film opened at number one at the box office and solidified her place in Hollywood.
J.Lo was titled after the nickname she had been given by her fans, with Lopez also adopting J.Lo as her stagename. It produced four singles: "
Love Don't Cost a Thing", which reached number one in various countries, In September 2001, Lopez performed a
two-concert residency in Puerto Rico, which marked her first concerts. It was broadcast that November as an
NBC special,
Jennifer Lopez in Concert, and became one of the most-watched concert specials of the year, with a US audience of almost 12 million. Also in 2001, Lopez founded her production company,
Nuyorican Productions, with manager Benny Medina, and starred in the romantic drama,
Angel Eyes, opposite
Jim Caviezel. Lopez's performance was well-reviewed, though the film was a critical and commercial disappointment. Plans for her to star with
Ricky Martin in a
Viva Las Vegas remake were scrapped. Lopez released two albums in 2002. The first was
J to tha L–O! The Remixes, which became the first remix album in history to debut at number one on the
Billboard 200. Its singles included "
Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)" and "
I'm Gonna Be Alright", which reached number one and ten on the
Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Lopez's third studio album,
This Is Me... Then, was released in late 2002, and was heavily influenced by her relationship with then-fiancé
Ben Affleck. It received mixed critical reviews;
Billboards Michael Paoletta noted the "considerable growth she reveals as a performer and tunesmith" on the album, The album became a commercial success, achieving the highest opening sales week of her career. The album's lead single, "
Jenny from the Block", which peaked at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100, was viewed as a response to the notion that Lopez had alienated her "core fan base: the black and Hispanic hip-hop community." An overworked Lopez suffered a
nervous breakdown in 2001 while filming it. The film received negative reviews; Her next film was the romantic comedy,
Maid in Manhattan (2002), in which Lopez starred opposite
Ralph Fiennes as a maid and single mother from the Bronx. It became the highest-grossing film of her career at the time. Lopez was ranked among the top ten highest-paid actresses in Hollywood in 2002, earning $8 million per feature.
2003–2006: Media scrutiny in 2004 Lopez became the subject of widespread media criticism in 2003 due to her public relationship with Ben Affleck and the
tabloid depiction of her as a demanding diva. She fired both her personal manager Benny Medina and her publicist in mid-2003;
The New York Times reported that movie executives had become frustrated by having their communications with Lopez "largely filtered" through Medina. That year, Lopez starred opposite Affleck in the romantic comedy
Gigli, which was a
box-office bomb and is considered
one of the worst films of all time. Rex Reed of
The Observer criticized the lead actors, calling them "pathetically incompetent" in both "craft and talent".
Roger Ebert agreed that the movie "doesn't quite work", but found Lopez and Affleck "appealing in their performances" and noted the couple's chemistry. Lopez had a minor role opposite Affleck in the film
Jersey Girl (2004). Following test audiences' negative reactions to the onscreen couple, her screen time was halved. While she remained one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood during this period, Lopez later described this as the lowest point of her career and admitted she felt "eviscerated" by the media coverage surrounding
Gigli: "I lost my sense of self, questioned if I belonged in this business, thought maybe I did suck at everything. And my relationship self-destructed in front of the entire world. It was a two-year thing for me until I picked myself up again." Months later, she starred opposite
Richard Gere in the romantic comedy-drama
Shall We Dance?, which was a box-office success. She released her fourth studio album,
Rebirth, in early 2005. Its title was symbolic of Lopez's hopes for "a new professional beginning". It was recorded during a period where Lopez felt "a little bit lost, trying to get my footing in a new life", "I had just gotten married [to singer
Marc Anthony] ... I wasn't with Benny [Medina]." The album reached number two on the
Billboard 200, but failed to replicate the sales of her previous albums. She next starred alongside
Robert Redford and
Morgan Freeman in the drama
An Unfinished Life (2005), which received mixed reviews. Ebert of the
Chicago Sun-Times predicted that the typical review would be unkind: "It will have no respect for Jennifer Lopez, because she is going through a period right now when nobody is satisfied with anything she does ... Give Lopez your permission to be good again; she is the same actress now as when we thought her so new and fine." The next year, she returned to the top five of the
Billboard Hot 100 as a featured artist on "
Control Myself", the lead single from
LL Cool J's
twelfth studio album. In 2006, she reunited with director Gregory Nava to star in the crime drama
Bordertown as a journalist investigating
female homicides in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The film was negatively reviewed and received a
direct-to-video release.
2007–2010: Career downturn By the late 2000s, Lopez's commercial success had declined. Her music career "entered a plateau", while "her film career entered a period of some disappointing-to-middling successes". In 2007, she starred opposite her then-husband
Marc Anthony in the music biopic
El Cantante, which told the story of Puerto Rican
salsa singer
Héctor Lavoe and his wife Puchi. It did not perform well at the box office and received mixed reviews from film critics; Lopez's performance, which she expressed pride in, Lopez released two studio albums in 2007. Her fifth album,
Como Ama una Mujer, was her first to be recorded entirely in Spanish. It became the fifth Spanish album to debut in the top ten of the
Billboard 200, and achieved the highest first-week sales for an artist's debut Spanish album at the time. The album debuted at number 12 on the
Billboard 200 and produced two singles, "
Do It Well" and "
Hold It Don't Drop It". The first peaked at number 31 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the latter failed to chart. While pregnant with twins, Lopez embarked upon her first ever concert tour,
a show co-headlined by Anthony, in September 2007; the tour was well received. She also created, produced and was featured in the MTV show
DanceLife, which she described as a "passion project". She described the next few years as a "strange time" as she primarily focused on family and travelling with Anthony while he toured. After rehiring former manager Medina, Lopez released two songs in late 2009, "
Louboutins" and "Fresh Out of the Oven". The songs were intended for her seventh studio album but failed to make an appearance on the
Billboard charts, leading to her departure from Sony Music and
Epic Records. Lopez's first theatrical role in three years was in the romantic comedy
The Back-up Plan (2010).
2011–2015: American Idol and career revival in
Paris, France in 2012 A "big turning point" in Lopez's career came when she joined the judging panel of the singing competition series
American Idol for its
tenth season, replacing
Simon Cowell. Despite being advised that it was a "huge gamble", she accepted the job, as she was "not getting offered a whole bunch of movies". Lopez's appearance on
American Idol in 2011 returned her to prominence. Lopez's exposure on
American Idol resulted in what
Billboard called "the most impressive reality-TV-based rejuvenation of a music career ever." After signing a new recording contract with
Island Records, her seventh studio album,
Love?, was released in early 2011. While the album itself was a moderate commercial success, the single "
On the Floor" was the year's highest-selling single by a female artist, and ultimately became the best-selling single of her career. The album produced two more singles, "
I'm Into You" and "
Papi", which did not achieve similar success. Lopez returned as a judge for
American Idols
eleventh season in 2012, earning a reported $20 million. Lopez, who was divorcing Anthony and navigating the "breakup of a family", felt as if the album's sole single, "
Dance Again", had come to her at the "perfect moment". "Dance Again" reached number 17 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100. Lopez launched the
Dance Again World Tour, her first headlining concert tour, in mid-2012. It grossed over $1 million per show. Lopez returned to the big screen in 2012, starring alongside an
ensemble cast in the film ''
What to Expect When You're Expecting, which is based on the 1984 book What to Expect When You're Expecting. Lopez voiced Shira, a saber tooth tiger, in the animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, the fourth film in the Ice Age franchise. Also in 2012, a talent show, ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen followed Lopez, Anthony, and director-choreographer Jamie King as they travelled across 21 countries in Latin America to find new talent for a Las Vegas show. In 2013, Lopez starred alongside Jason Statham in the crime thriller Parker, in which she played Leslie. Her performance earned positive reviews, with the Chicago Tribune commending the role for giving Lopez "an opportunity to be dramatic, romantic, funny, depressed, euphoric and violent. The audience stays with her all the way". That year, Lopez released the single "Live It Up", and was named chief creative officer of NuvoTV. She also served as an executive producer of the television series The Fosters'' (2013–2018), a show about a lesbian couple raising a family. Lopez's desire to work on the series was driven by her late aunt, who was gay. in 2014 After a one-season absence, Lopez returned to
American Idol for its
thirteenth season, earning a reported $17.5 million. Her eighth studio album,
A.K.A., was released in mid-2014 through
Capitol Records, experiencing lacklustre sales, becoming her lowest-selling album in the U.S. The album produced three singles: "
I Luh Ya Papi", featuring
French Montana, "
First Love", and "
Booty", featuring
Iggy Azalea. They reached 77, 87 and 18 respectively on the
Billboard Hot 100. Also that year, Lopez released "
We Are One (Ole Ola)", the official song for the
2014 FIFA World Cup along with
Pitbull and
Claudia Leitte. Lopez released a book,
True Love, which became a
New York Times best-seller. 2015 saw the release of
The Boy Next Door, an erotic thriller that Lopez both co-produced and starred in as a high school teacher who becomes involved with a student, which eventually leads to his dangerous obsession with her. The film received negative reviews from critics. Despite this, it became her most successful opening at the box office for a live action film since
Monster-in-Law. Lopez had a voice role in the animated feature
Home and contributed the single "
Feel the Light" to the film's official soundtrack. She also starred in the independent drama film
Lila & Eve, alongside
Viola Davis.
2016–2020: Television work, Hustlers and Super Bowl LIV In January 2016, Lopez commenced a concert residency show,
All I Have, at
Planet Hollywood's
Zappos Theater in
Las Vegas. She performed 120 shows during the three-year run, grossing over $100 million in ticket sales. At the beginning of the residency, Lopez signed a multi-album deal with her former label Epic Records—though she would depart the label before releasing any albums—and released "
Ain't Your Mama", one of her most successful singles during the 2010s. Also in 2016, she began starring in
NBC's crime drama series
Shades of Blue, which she also executive produced. She played
Harlee Santos, a single mother and police detective who goes undercover for the FBI to investigate her own squad. The series' premiere brought NBC its most-watched Thursday debut in seven years. Starring alongside
Ray Liotta, Lopez's performance received critical praise. That year, she reprised her voice role as Shira in the animated film
Ice Age: Collision Course (2016). Lopez was executive producer and judge on NBC's dance competition series
World of Dance, which was a ratings success upon its May 2017 premiere. That year, Lopez released the singles "
Ni Tú Ni Yo" and "
Amor, Amor, Amor", which were intended to be included on her second Spanish-language album,
Por Primera Vez, which was ultimately shelved. In 2018, Lopez released a string of Spanish and
Spanglish singles: "
Se Acabó el Amor", "
El Anillo", "
Dinero" featuring
DJ Khaled and
Cardi B, and "
Te Guste" with
Bad Bunny.
Forbes noted that the songs were unable to "completely connect on a crossover, mainstream level", but were more successful on US-based Latin charts, nearly all of them reaching number one on the
Billboard Latin Airplay chart. she also recorded the single "
Limitless" for its soundtrack.
Second Act earned mixed reviews from critics, but performed well at the box office, grossing over $72 million on a $16 million budget. tour in July 2019 In the first half of 2019, Lopez embarked on an international concert tour,
It's My Party, to celebrate her 50th birthday. The tour grossed an estimated $54.7 million from thirty-eight shows.
Variety reported that most shows were sold out. She also signed with new label
Hitco Entertainment and released the single "
Medicine" featuring French Montana. She also became executive producer of two television series,
Good Trouble and
Thanks a Million. Lopez executive produced and starred in the crime drama film
Hustlers (2019). Directed by
Lorene Scafaria, the film is inspired by a true story, following a group of
Manhattan strippers who con wealthy male
Wall Street clientele. Lopez's portrayal of a veteran stripper in
Hustlers garnered acclaim from critics, with some deeming it the best performance of her acting career. The film also gave Lopez her highest opening weekend at the box office for a live action film, grossing $33.2 million. Her performance received nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the
Golden Globe Awards,
Screen Actors Guild Awards,
Critics' Choice Movie Awards and
Independent Spirit Awards. The success of
Hustlers was regarded by various media outlets as a comeback as an actress for Lopez. Her perceived Academy Award snub for
Hustlers (2019) was referenced by Los Angeles mayor
Eric Garcetti when announcing a new initiative for Latino representation in Hollywood. In February 2020, Lopez co-headlined the
Super Bowl LIV halftime show in
Miami, Florida alongside
Shakira; the performance included an appearance by her child Emme Muñiz. The performance was widely praised and became the most-watched
Super Bowl halftime show to date.
2021–present: Focus on film and This Is Me... Now In January 2021, she performed at the
2021 inauguration of President
Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. In mid-2021, she signed a multi-year deal with
Netflix to produce a range of films and television shows through her own Nuyorican Productions, and released the
reggaeton Spanish single "
Cambia el Paso" with
Rauw Alejandro. The film grossed over $50 million at the box office while becoming the most-streamed day-and-date film on
Peacock, and received generally mixed reviews from critics. Lopez and Maluma released a
soundtrack for the film, which generated the singles "
On My Way" and "
Marry Me". Her next project was the documentary
Jennifer Lopez: Halftime (2022), which focuses on her life following the release of
Hustlers and in preparation for her Super Bowl performance. Released on Netflix following its premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival, it garnered positive reviews from film critics. The following month,
Jimmy Fallon and Lopez released a children's book,
Con Pollo: A Bilingual Playtime Adventure, which became a
New York Times best-seller. Lopez co-produced and starred opposite
Josh Duhamel and
Jennifer Coolidge in the action-comedy
Shotgun Wedding (2023). It became one of the top-streamed films on
Amazon Prime Video that year. She also led and co-produced the action thriller film
The Mother (2023). The film received mixed reviews, but became the most-watched film on
Netflix in 2023, and at one point, was one of the
most-watched original films of all time on the platform. After marrying
Ben Affleck and entering a publishing partnership with
BMG Rights Management, Lopez released her ninth studio album,
This Is Me... Now, in February 2024. A sequel to
This Is Me... Then (2002), the album spawned two singles: "
Can't Get Enough", and "Rebound" featuring rapper
Anuel AA. Lopez promoted the album with an exclusive concert at the
Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, which was recorded as a concert film and released by
Apple TV+ on February 21, 2024.
This Is Me... Now formed part of a "three-part multimedia project" which included a companion musical film,
This Is Me... Now: A Love Story directed by
Dave Meyers, and a documentary,
The Greatest Love Story Never Told. After potential partners backed out, Lopez financed the film herself for $20 million before it was purchased by Amazon. the film and its accompanying documentary also divided audiences, due in part to the overexposure of her relationship with Affleck. She would later state that "it was like my whole f***ing world exploded" amid the public scrutiny surrounding her personal and professional life in 2024. Lopez's films continued to achieve success;
Collider and
Deadline Hollywood noted her to be among the most successful actors of the streaming era.
Atlas received negative reviews from critics but became a success on the platform. In a positive review of the film,
The New York Times praised Lopez's performance and called the film "an intriguing concept." Her next role was in the biographical sports drama
Unstoppable (2024), in which she plays the mother of wrestler
Anthony Robles. The film premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival and received limited theatrical release before debuting on Prime Video. Lopez received praise for her work in the film, which Owen Gleiberman of
Variety called "the fullest screen performance she has ever given". She was presented with
Varietys "Legend & Groundbreaker Award" at the 2025
Palm Springs International Film Festival in honor of
Unstoppable and her overall career. Lopez returned to touring with
Up All Night: Live in 2025, which consisted of twenty dates across Africa, Asia and Europe. On July 24, 2025, Lopez's 56th birthday, she released the single "
Birthday". She co-executive produced and starred in the
Bill Condon-directed musical drama
Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025), a film adaption of the
Broadway 1993 musical of the same name. Her first role in a full-fledged musical, Condon wrote the part with Lopez in mind. The film premiered at the
2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Lopez's performance received positive reviews. In December 2025, she launched Jennifer Lopez: Up All Night Live in Las Vegas, a residency at
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace which will span 12 shows. That month, she appeared in a
mid-credits scene in
Anaconda (2025), a meta-reboot of the 1997 film. On March 6, 2026, Lopez released the single "Save Me Tonight", in collaboration with French DJ/producer
David Guetta.
Upcoming projects Lopez will co-produce and star opposite
Brett Goldstein in Netflix's
Office Romance. She will also co-produce a series adaptation of
Emily Henry's 2023 novel
Happy Place for Netflix. She has also committed to lead and co-produce Netflix's film adaptation of the bestselling novel,
The Cipher. Lopez has several projects in the works as a producer. Through her continued partnership with Netflix, she will also star in an adaption of the novel
The Last Mrs. Parrish, directed by
Robert Zemeckis. ==Personal life==