Jennifer Lopez

Some people seem to be famous because they're famous. Looking back on Jennifer Lopez's short but busy career, one sees an arrow to the top where the quality of the project is second to Lopez's involvement. Like the Candy Man, she can make the sun rise.

She has been a dancer, an actress, and now a singer. Born in the Bronx on July 24, 1970, she always knew she wanted to be a performer, but it was her association with the Fox Network series In Living Color, as a "Fly Girl" dancer, that first gained her attention. Her dance moves, overwhelming stage presence, and soon-to-be-famous Latina curves were the stuff of talent agents' dreams. After landing acting parts on such short-lived TV series as Fox's South Central, CBS's Second Chances, and Aaron Spelling's Malibu Road, she shifted to movies, and her career took off when she eventually landed the title role in the feature film Selena, playing Selena Quintanilla Perez, the Tejano singer whose tragic murder made her an immediate icon. The film made a respectable showing at the box office, and Lopez's uncanny portrayal of the singer won her critical raves (she scored a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination) and a reported $1 million salary, a paycheck that made her the highest-paid Latina actress in history.

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