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More Jennifer Lopez Bios & Profiles

 

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Biography #2 (for Monster-In-Law)

Jennifer Lopez is a multi-talented artist, making her mark in motion pictures, music, fashion, beauty products and accessories.

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1970 into a loving Puerto Rican family in the Bronx. Although a family-oriented neighborhood, it was also a rough place. Her father, a computer-operations manager, and her mother, a kindergarten teacher, both had a strong work ethic that was a big influence in their three daughter's lives. With family as their top priority, they did their best to shelter their children from the horrors found just a few blocks from their home.

Jennifer's mother passed on her love of musicals to her daughters, and the girls would create productions of their own in the family's living room. Jennifer took singing and dancing lessons from age five, and at the age of seven, young Jennifer went on her first tour - around New York City with her dance class! She knew then that she wanted to be a performer and set her heart on a dancing career.

During high school, Jennifer played softball, tennis and also did gymnastics. After graduating in 1987 she attended City University of New York's Baruch College, worked in a law office, and continued her dance classes at night. But her first love was still dance, and when she read about a scholarship to a dance school in Manhattan, she went down and seized the opportunity.

A year and a half later she landed a role dancing as one of 'The Fly Girls' on In Living Color. A series of small acting roles followed, and in 1995 she appeared in her first feature, the critically acclaimed Mi Familia. Also that year she appeared in Money Train with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, and 1996's Jack, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Robin Williams.

However her big break came in 1997, when she was chosen to play the title role in Selena, a biopic of the Tejano pop singer Selena Quintillana Perez, who was killed by a crazed fan in 1995. Jennifer earned widespread praise for her performance, including a Golden Globe nod, and became the highest-paid Latina actress ever. She had officially arrived, and People magazine named her one of the year's 50 Most Beautiful People. Other films followed including Anaconda, Blood and Wine, and Out of Sight, co-starring George Clooney.

Jennifer's musical career also began to take off, as she released her debut Latin pop album, On the 6 in June 1999. Fueled by the success of her hit single, If You Had My Love, it went platinum within two weeks, making her one of the most influential examples of the growing Latin cultural influence in pop music. In early 2000, she was nominated for Best Dance Performance for her second hit single Waiting for Tonight. On the big screen that year she starred in the science fiction-thriller The Cell, and gave a powerful performance in Enough, a portrayal of spousal abuse.

In early 2001, Jennifer's popularity reached new heights when her album J. Lo debuted at #1 on the pop charts, while her film, the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner, shot to the top spot at the box office in its first week of release. In 2002, she performed another one-two punch with the release of the record This Is Me...Then and starred in the hit comedy Maid in Manhattan.

Lopez most recently starred opposite Richard Gere in Shall We Dance? Currently Jennifer is staring in and producing Bordertown, which reunites her with Selena director Gregory Nava. Bordertown will be produced though Jennifer's production company Nuyorican and as well as El Norte Films. Upcoming projects include An Unfinished Life with Robert Redford in which she played a single mom taken in by her father-in-law. Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Films along with Flame TV is producing South Beach for the UPN. Six episodes have already been ordered.

In March, Jennifer released her latest album, Rebirth. She has plans this fall to release a Spanish album.

Lopez is deeply committed to doing all she can for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and its patients so that every child from every background has access to the best in pediatric medicine. Despite her busy schedule, she makes time to visit and corresponds with patients via e-mail. She further supports the hospital on her website, encouraging fans to make donations. In addition to her financial support, she has donated items from her popular retail lines -- jewelry, sunglasses, fragrance and clothing -- as well as several thousands of DVD's and CD's. For her work she was presented with the hospital's Children's Humanitarian Award.

Bio courtesy New Line Cinema for "Monster-In-Law" (20-Apr-2005)


Biography #3 (for Gigli)

Jennifer Lopez earned widespread acclaim for her work in the title role of Selena, and then was showered with extensive praise for her role opposite George Clooney in Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight.

Soon after, she starred in the psychological thriller The Cell, playing the role of a gifted psychotherapist who must journey inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hope of saving his latest victim. The film opened #1 at the box office in August 2000, grossing $17.5 million, and eventually reaching $60 million.

Lopez recently made history by being the first woman to have the #1 movie and #1 album in the same week. The romantic comedy The Wedding Planner co-starring Matthew McConaughey and released by Columbia Pictures, was the nation's top grossing movie at the time. Her sophomore recording release J.Lo debuted at the top of the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Later that year Lopez starred in Angel Eyes co-starring Jim Caviezel and directed by Luis Mandoki. She played a police officer working through a history of sexual abuse by befriending a man who is coming to grips with the death of his wife and son.

Lopez has been honored at ShoWest as the ShoWest Female Star of the Year, as well as being named Entertainer of the Year by the National Council of La Raza, the largest Latino advocacy group in the nation, presented at the American Latino Media Arts Awards for TV and film.

Lopez made her feature film debut in the highly acclaimed feature My Family/Mi Familia, garnering an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her role as the young mother Maria Sanchez. Her other film credits include Oliver Stone's U-Turn, Money Train with Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, Francis Ford Coppola's Jack with Robin Williams, Blood and Wine opposite Jack Nicholson, Michael Apted's thriller Enough and Anaconda with Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz and Ice Cube. She can also be heard in the animated feature Antz, voicing the character Azteca, alongside Woody Allen and Sylvester Stallone.

Most recently, she starred in Revolution Studios' hit romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan, released by Columbia Pictures. Currently, she is shooting the remake of Shall We Dance? opposite Richard Gere for director Peter Chelsom. She is due to co-star with Affleck again in Kevin Smith's new film Jersey Girl and will appear opposite Robert Redford in Lasse Halstrom's drama An Unfinished Life slated for this fall.

As a recording artist, Lopez's 1999 debut album, On the 6, sold more than eight million copies worldwide and earned her two Grammy nominations. Her smash single, If You Had My Love, spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and the accompanying video earned four MTV Video Music Award nominations. In 2000, she won an MTV Award and the best R&B Award at the MTV European Music Awards.

J.Lo, her sophomore album, was executive produced by Lopez. J.Lo debuted at #1 on the Billboard Charts, and has sold over eight million units worldwide. The first three singles Love Don't Cost A Thing, Play and I'm Real all went to #1. In 2001, she was nominated for an American Music Award as Best Female Artist. Jennifer's third album J To Tha L-O! THE REMIXES is the first remix album to enter the Billboard Top 200 chart at #1 and has spawned two #1 hit singles. The track Alive, written by Lopez, was featured in her film Enough.

Most recently, Lopez released her third album This is Me ...Then, which included the hit single Jenny From the Block.

In November 2001, Jennifer expanded her talents to fashion design by launching the J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez women's collection. This fall she also introduced her own fragrance. Future plans for her Sweetface Fashions, a joint venture with an investment group led by Andy Hilfiger and Larry Stemmerman, will include licensing agreements to expand the J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez brand into other fashion categories, including accessories, eyewear and swimwear.

Bio courtesy Columbia Pictures for "Gigli" (03-Aug-2003)