JENNIFER LOPEZ
FAB AT 50, J-LO REVEALS THE SECRETS TO HER SUCCESS
How she’s still hustling at 50!
It was a moment that only a woman with a whole heap of chutzpah could pull off. Dressed in a plunging gown held together with a safety pin and a prayer, Jennifer Lopez walked the red carpet at the 2000 Grammy Awards like a barely dressed goddess, to the delight of photographers and the awe of people watching.
The Love Don’t Cost a Thing singer was just 30 when she rocked the green Versace gown that almost broke the internet. Twenty years later, some might expect she would have consigned that youthful moment to the history books.
But this is Jennifer Lopez we’re talking about. And 20 years later, everything about her is just as vital – from her career and her love life to her wellhoned physique. She still has the world at her feet, so much so that last month the Dinero hitmaker strutted the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week in an even more daring version of her history-making green gown, looking like she hadn’t aged a day in two decades.
Her music is still so much in demand that she’s headlining the 2020 Super Bowl half-time show with fellow Latina singer Shakira – a gig that will be watched by 100 million viewers.
And thanks to her standout performance in new movie Hustlers, her acting talents are also being applauded. The Maid in Manhattan star is even being tipped to get an Oscar nomination!
Turning 50, it seems, is one of the best things that has happened to J-Lo. “We’re conditioned to think, as women, that it would be over by now,” says the star, who has sold more than 75 million records. “And the truth is, it’s not like that at all. I find myself growing and getting better every year, and that’s exciting.”
The mum of two celebrated her big birthday on July 24 this year with a lavish party in Miami, including a 10-tier cake that required four men to carry it.
By her side was her baseball star fiancé Alex Rodriguez (44), who gave her a red Porsche for the milestone celebration, and their blended family – Alex’s daughters Natasha (14) and Ella (11), and J-Lo’s twins Max and Emme (11), who she shares with her ex-husband Marc Anthony.
It was a celebration not just of how much she has achieved but also that her life has never been better. And the trick to ageing, says Jennifer, is to never give up.
“Everything is always changing and you’ve got to keep moving with the times,” says the star. “You can’t get stuck and go, ‘Okay, I’m just going to give up.’ And I never give up. You can’t give up.”
While her recording career has gone from strength to strength, J-Lo’s acting career has been a bumpy ride to say the least – the low point being the 2003 rom-com flop Gigli she made with then-boyfriend Ben Affleck.
Slated by critics as “the worst film of all time”, it bombed at the box office and Jennifer could easily have bowed out of acting to focus on her music. Instead, she stuck to her “never give up” mantra, and now the accolades are flowing in for her role in Hustlers as a stripper who runs a scam ripping off her Wall Street clientele.
When asked about the Oscar buzz, she sheds a tear.
“You work hard your whole life and you wonder if anybody notices,” she confesses. “You have dreams when you’re a little girl of being [at the Oscars], you know what I mean?”
The actress prepared hard for the part, including a challenging masterclass in pole dancing.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “People are like, ‘Oh, you’re a dancer, it must have been somewhat easy.’ But no. It’s actually like learning acrobatics. It’s a whole different thing.”
Those skills probably won’t come out at the next big event in her life – her wedding to Alex. The pair have been tight-lipped about the details, but Jennifer has let slip that her son Max will walk her down the aisle.
And post-wedding, the star has not given up on the idea of adding to her brood, confessing recently that she wants more kids and that Max and Emme would be over the moon if that happened.
“They would love to have a brother or sister. They love Natasha and Ella in their lives, having two extra bonus sisters. We really form a beautiful blended family and I think they would all be thrilled.”
It’s just another way Jennifer never says never.
“We really are limitless. We really can accomplish anything that we set our minds to do,” she says. “There are no boundaries when it comes to dreams and desires of things you want to do with your life, personally or professionally.”