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An ambitious triple threat who went from dancer to top shelf actress to best-selling recording artist, Jennifer Lopez was able to maintain a high level of publicity throughout a majority of her career, even when negative press managed to enter her orbit.

After getting her start as a "Fly Girl" on the hit variety series "In Living Color" (Fox, 1990-94), Lopez broke through with a strong leading performance in the biopic "Selena" (1997), playing the famed Tejano singer who was tragically murdered by an obsessed fan. But it was her onscreen chemistry and believable portrayal of a federal agent falling for an escaped convict in "Out of Sight" (1998) that propelled her into the limelight - to say nothing of a now infamous Versace green dress with plunging neckline that took the world by storm.

She immediately became the prime topic of the tabloids, which took pleasure in detailing her relationships with Sean Combs, Ben Affleck, Chris Judd and Marc Anthony. Meanwhile, Lopez launched a second career as a top recording artist and repackaged herself as J.Lo, which helped buttress the box office failures of below par features like "Angel Eyes" (2001), "Enough" (2002) and "Gigli" (2003). By the time she introduced her perfume and clothing lines.

She had established herself as a multifaceted force to be reckoned with, while becoming one of the richest and most influential Hispanic entertainers of all time.Born on July 24, 1969 in Bronx, NY, Lopez was raised in a strict Catholic household by her father, David, a computer specialist, and her mother, Guadalupe, a music teacher. At the age of four, the focused Lopez set her sights on becoming a singer and dancer.

Eventually, she began taking dance lessons at the local Bronx Boys and Girls club, then began appearing as a dancer in stage musicals. Lopez continued her training and performing at Preston High School, from which she graduated in 1986. After dipping her t into acting with a minor, but noticeable film debut in "My Little Girl" (1986), Lopez began dancing professionally in clubs, before landing spots on the European tour of "Golden Musicals of Broadway" and in the chorus behind famed Tony Award-winning actor and dancer Hinton Battle during his Japanese tour of "Synchronicity.