|
The late 90s have seen a Latin craze sweeping the entertainment industry, and at its forefront are two very photogenic stars - Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez. However, to think that Lopez’s newfound fame is merely due to a new trend would be misleading. A talented actress, singer and dancer, Jennifer defied expectations and worked her way to the top. Her mother, a kindergarten teacher, and her father, a computer analyst, nurtured their daughter’s ambitions early on by enrolling her in dance lessons. It was as a dancer that her career first got underway, first in musical stage productions, and then on television. Lopez beat out thousands in a national dance in order to earn herself a place as one of Rosie Perez’s Flygirls on the hit sketch comedy show, In Living Color. She was able to parlay her Flygirl success into other television work, and appeared on a string of new but short-lived sitcoms. Despite the setbacks, she was still able to move on to better things - this time on the big screen. A role in Gregory Nava’s critical success, Mi Familia helped put Lopez on the Hollywood map. In 1996, she appeared in both Money Train and Jack. Neither was successful, but in both cases it was the male leads who took the critical beating, and Lopez came out relatively unscathed...
| 
