Jennifer Lopez

Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez was born in the Bronx, NY, on July 24, 1970; after starting out in musical theater as a child, at age 16 she made her film debut in the little-seen My Little Girl, but her career then stalled until she was tapped to become one of the dancing "Fly Girls" on the television sketch comedy series In Living Color. A recurring role on the TV drama Second Chances followed before Lopez was thrust into the limelight co-starring with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in the 1995 feature film Money Train; smaller roles in pictures including My Family/Mi Familia, Jack, and Blood and Wine followed before she landed the title role in 1997's Selena, portraying the slain Tejano singer. Co-starring opposite George Clooney in 1998's acclaimed Out of Sight, Lopez (the product of a Puerto Rican family) became the highest-paid Latina actress in Hollywood history; the following summer, she returned to her musical roots with her debut pop album, On the 6, scoring a major hit with the infectious single "If You Had My Love." Lopez didn't waste time perfecting a sophomore effort, the appropriately titled J.Lo, which was issued in early 2001. The following year Lopez released J to tha L-O!: The Remixes and This Is Me...Then, which spawned another hit single, "Jenny From the Block."