By Maddie Bimonte
2024 marked the comeback of triple-threat musician, dancer, and actress Jennifer Lopez, with the release of her album “This is Me…Now”. And she’s certainly making her presence known now in the world after she self-directed and starred in the movie “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story”.
While the movie was nowhere near what critics viewed as “good,” and even I thought the movie was a little ridiculous, JLo has cemented herself in not just Bronx history but music history with her phenomenal career.
Starting off her life, Lopez learned dance at her local Boys and Girls Club in Kips Bay, and performed in her school musicals at Preston High in Throggs Neck. When it came time to go to college, Lopez faced backlash from her parents for wanting to pursue a career in dance. After attending Baruch College for one semester, Lopez left school to enroll in Manhattan’s Phil Black Dance Studio.
She first started performing professionally in 1989 and 1990 before landing her first big dance role as a Fly Girl jazz-funk dancer on the sketch comedy television series In Living Color. After appearing as a Fly Girl in seasons three and four of the series, Lopez left to work as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, and appeared in the music video for “That’s the Way Love Goes.” She was scheduled to tour with Jackson on her Janet World Tour in late 1993 but opted to pursue an acting career instead.
Her acting career started off strong with appearances in Jack, a Frances Ford Coppola film, as well as starring alongside Jack Nicholson in Blood and Wine. But perhaps what most people associate her with is her portrayal of singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in the movie “Selena.” With this, Lopez became the first Latina actress to earn $1 million.
After the movie, she halted her acting career, saying she wanted to return to the stage. Her 1999 debut album “On the 6,”named after the 6 Subway line which connected her childhood home in the Bronx to Manhattan, was met with positive reviews and further propelled her public profile.
JLo was a crucial facet of the 2000’s Latin pop trend that began in the early 90s. Aside from other pop giants such as Shakira and Christina Aguilara, JLo was able to cement herself as an international icon at the 2000 Grammy Awards. While her music was thriving, it was her outfit that launched her to new heights. Appearing in a green chiffon Versace gown, the dress received so much media attention that Google Images was invented because of her.
But after riding high musically with songs such as “Jenny From the Block” and “Let’s Get Loud” which dominated the charts, Lopez’s career took a downturn when she began a relationship with Ben Affleck. While we know she’s now back together with him in the current day, the original relationship was largely drama filled and attracted a lot of negative press due to her personality being described as “bossy and selfish”.
In 2011 JLo made a resurgence, thanks to her appearance on American Idol as the replacement to judge Simon Cowel.This brought her personality to new heights as viewers found her to be a strong mother, thoughtful, and caring on the show.
More importantly, 2011 brought the JLo song “On The Floor,”one of my favorite songs as a kid, to the pop charts. The hits continued after she released “Dance Again” in 2012, just ahead of her multi-million dollar world tour.
Things remained relatively stable for Lopez across the later 2010’s, receiving her highest accolades and positive commentary from Entertainment Tonight and Rotten Tomatoes who commented on her amazing acting in Hustlers.
Lopez then went on just a year later to headline the Super Bowl LIV halftime show alongside fellow latin pop artist Shakira. Surely there were critiques regarding the sexual nature of the halftime show, but the singing and dancing was to a level that was much needed after the flop of a halftime show of Maroon 5 and Travis Scott the year before. Coupled with the fact the Super Bowl was hosted in Miami, it seemed like fate for JLo to be there.
Ever since JLo has faded a bit to the background, and while trying to reemerge with her movie, it seems she may have gone in the wrong direction. However, JLo will return to the fashion scene, as she was named one of the co-chairs for the 2024 Met Gala.
While JLo may not be the biggest star on the planet right now, she’s attributed so much of her career to being a positive Latin artist as well as a proud Bronx native. At the end of the day, she’s still Jenny from the Block.
