Sweet, Sexy, Sensational JLo

Jennifer Lopez first began her rise to the heights of the Hollywood hills in 1986, at the tender age of 16. Born to Puerto Rican parents in the Bronx on July 24, 1969, and with a taste for the limelight, “Jenny from the block”, worked her famous butt off to become a successful actress, dancer, singer, producer, fashion designer and author.

Although her first film role in ‘My Little Girl’ (1987) didn’t quite make the cut to kick-starting her career, her taste of fame propelled her to work harder and to dream bigger. Lopez won her first dance role in Janet Jackson’s music video ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ in 1993, followed by a series of screen and film roles including ‘Nurse On The Line: The Crash of Flight 7’ (1993), ‘My Family’ (1995), ‘Money Train’ (1995), Francis Ford Coppola’s comedy drama ‘Jack’ (1996), starring Robin Williams, and ‘Selena’ (1997), for which she was nominated Best Actress at the Golden Globes, and was consequently moved up the show biz ladder.

Yet the 90’s were only the beginning for JLo.

Thanks to her sky-high profile following the success of her role in Steven Soderbergh’s 1998 film ‘Out of Sight’, starring George Clooney, JLo was offered a modeling contract with L’Oreal as well as a recording contract with Sony records. She then released her debut album ‘On The 6’ (1999), instantly reaching the top 10 on the US charts, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording and two nominations at the Latin Grammy Awards.

The gorgeous Latin Icon has since released 7 studio albums, almost all of which were as successful as one another, certified Gold and Platinum. She has also starred in numerous blockbusters, including ‘Maid in Manhattan’ (2002) with Ralph Fiennes, ‘Shall We Dance’ (2004) with Richard Gere, ‘Monster-In-Law’ (2005) with Jane Fonda, and ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting’ (2012) with Cameron Diaz.

JLo has had more than a few successes in her extensive career:

• She became the first Latina actress to earn more than $1 million for a film role (‘Out of Sight’).
• She became the first person to have a Nº1 album (‘J.Lo’) and film (‘The Wedding Planner’) in the same week.
• ‘J to tha L-O! The Remixes’, released in 2002, became the first in history to debut at Nº1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
• Her fifth studio album ‘Como Una Mujer’ (2007), produced by her then husband and father of her twins, Marc Anthony, received the highest first-week sales for a Spanish album in the U.S.
• JLo has sold over 75 million records worldwide and has an accumulative film gross of over $2 billion.
• She is the highest paid Latin star, with a net worth of $250 million, and is deemed the most influential Hispanic celeb in the U.S.
• She received the Legacy Award at the 2010 World Music Awards for her contributions to music.
• She has won 6 ALMA Awards, 3 American Music Awards, 3 Billboard Music Video Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 8 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 3 Brit Awards, 2 MTV Music Video Awards… the list goes on.

So, happy 45th Birthday, JLo, and congratulations on your many successes – you are sensational! Oh… and by the way, you look fantastic!