Jennifer Lopez: Snapshot

Name
Jennifer Lopez
Date of Birth
July 24, 1969
Birth Place
Bronx, N.Y.
Jennifer Lopez has always laughed off the rumors that her derriere is insured for $1 billion, but there's no doubt about her assets. Her first starring role in 1997's Selena showcased her talents as an actress and singer – but it was those tight costumes and the curves they revealed that made her a sex symbol.

That breakthrough performance launched a multifaceted career that includes albums, movies, clothes and perfume. But it was Lopez's love life with music mogul Sean ''Diddy'' Combs and actor Ben Affleck that catapulted her into tabloid headlines. After the rocky, high-profile engagement that was "Bennifer" ended, Lopez quietly married Latin singer Marc Anthony.

In February 2008, Lopez became a mother to twins, a boy named Max and a girl named Emme. The hot mama – who was named PEOPLE's Most Beautiful in 2011 – joined the judges panel of American Idol, before ending her marriage to husband of seven years Marc Anthony in July 2011.

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Jennifer Lopez: Video

* Non Franchise

Check out the diva's transformation from hip-hop darling to the ultimate glamour girl

(02:17)

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Jennifer Lopez: Five Fun Facts

  1. Once interviewed on air by younger sister Lynda, a correspondent for New York's Channel 11 News, Jennifer Lopez exclaimed, "Here I am talking about boys with my baby sister on television!"
  2. A health conscious star, Jennifer Lopez doesn't drink or smoke, telling In Style, "I think that ruins your skin. Of course, during celebratory toasts, everybody's like, 'You can't toast with water!' So I'll toast with alcohol and just take a sip."
  3. Estimating her worth at $255 million, Fortune magazine put Jennifer Lopez on its 2004 list of wealthiest entertainers under the age of 40.
  4. Oliver Stone, who directed Jennifer Lopez in 1997's U-Turn, was impressed by her work ethic. "She's a tough chick," he told PEOPLE. "She was barefoot for days with fake blood on her."
  5. Jennifer Lopez's childhood friends from the Bronx nicknamed her "The Supernova," and her first husband Ojani Noa called her "La Guitarra" because he thought her body was shaped like a guitar.

Jennifer Lopez: Biography

1970s

Jennifer Lopez

Girl in the Middle

David Lopez and Guadalupe Rodriguez encourage their three daughters to perform skits in their Bronx home, igniting a strong desire to perform in their second daughter, Jennifer. After high school graduation, she appears in the 1987 film My Little Girl with Mary Stuart Masterson and James Earl Jones. She also dances in the musical Synchronicity in Japan.

1991

Jennifer Lopez

September 22

Happy Feet

Lopez gets a big Hollywood break as a fancy-footed Fly Girl on the Wayans brothers' hit Fox comedy show In Living Color, soon graduating to dramatic roles on TV's Second Chances and South Central.

1997

Jennifer Lopez

March 21

Breakthrough Role

Lopez brings the murdered Tejano singer Selena back to life in a biopic, but not before beating out 11,000 competitors who flocked to auditions around the country and winning approval from Selena's padre Abraham Quintanilla. Comedian Paul Rodriguez, a Quintanilla family friend, tells PEOPLE, "Looking at Jennifer, you could swear that the killing was all just a bad nightmare."

Read More on Jennifer Lopez's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: Tony Duran

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): CELEBRITY ARCHIVE CORPORATION; FOX/SHOOTING STAR; SCOTT DEL AMO/Warner Bros.

Edited by Janet Mock and Julia Wang

Jennifer Lopez

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