J-Lo and behold: A goddess at FIFTY!
How does she look better in a bikini than she did in her 20s?
FOR most women entering their 50s, looking at old bikini photos is a disheartening experience.
Time, after all, is seldom kind. For Jennifer Lopez – who said goodbye to her 40s last summer – the reverse is true. Her latest photoshoot, in a retro animal print bikini for the Guess 2020 campaign, has stunned fans.
The actress and singer looks better now in a two-piece than she did in 1997, despite three divorces, a set of twins and countless heartbreaks. Back then, she was married for the first time and making her name in television. Her big Hollywood break came in 1998 alongside George Clooney in Out Of Sight.
Fashion was in a ‘waif chic’ phase and J-Lo was credited with challenging mainstream female body image, with one commentator writing: ‘She broke the mould. Suddenly, it was OK for women to have hips, curves, and a big backside.’ Vanity Fair described her buttocks as ‘a cultural icon’.
Over the next 20 years, J-Lo amassed a £300million fortune. By 2002 – and on marriage No 2 to actor Cris Judd – the youthful, soft tummy was on its way out. By 2012 – and married to husband No 3 Marc Anthony, father of her 11year-old twins Maximilian and Emme – her body was becoming more toned.
Today, engaged to former baseball player Alex Rodriguez, she has an impressive six-pack while maintaining the curves to which she owes so much.
She is said to work out for an hour, four to five times a week with her personal trainer. Forget regular sit-ups: Hardcore athlete J-Lo does 50 repetitions, including inclining abdominal crunches, holding a 45lb plate.
Her famous bottom owes much of its muscular, rounded shape to the platypus walk – a bizarre, bouncing, squatting walk that she demonstrates on Instagram. When training to play a stripper in last year’s film Hustler, it is said she took the pole dancing training so seriously she made sure she had a ‘pole in every location’ to practise.
As for her diet, she’s apparently very disciplined, staying away from processed foods and eating healthily. Her trainer Dodd Romero says: ‘Don’t worry though. She does allow herself one cheat day a week – which probably includes a chocolate chip cookie.’
That’s a cookie... singular.