7 surprising Jennifer Lopez facts you never knew about

Jennifer Lopez, who also goes by J.Lo, has cemented her place as a pop icon, dominating the charts and still continues to shine in her performances.

With a career spanning decades, the 56-year-old singer and actress has made a name for herself in the music industry and has become a global sensation.

Whether she’s on stage, or on fans’ screens as an actress or in the boardroom handling her business ventures, the On The Floor hitmaker continues to impress the world with her powerful portfolio.

However, despite being such a powerhouse, especially in the music industry there might be some things that her fans might be unaware of.

Here are some of fascinating facts about your favourite star:

J.Lo started a foundation

When her child Emme was still a baby back in 2008, she had developed a bump on her head which had left Jennifer extremely worried. She had rushed to seek medical attention but this experience made her realise that not every mother is fortunate enough to get the same level of care so easily.

In 2009, she and her sister Lynda founded the Lopez Family Foundation after the health scare.

Refrains from Alcohol

Many admire Jennifer for her beauty but did you know the secret behind her flawless skin? As it turns out the pop icon avoids consuming alcohol. But the list of off-limits beverages go beyond just alcohol, as coffee is also one of the things she refuses to drink. Other than that she also doesn’t smoke.

Talking to Independent, "I don’t drink or smoke or have caffeine; that really wrecks your skin as you get older."

Producer

The star wears many hats and many might not know but she is also a producer. She has her own company that she runs called Nuyorican Productions and produced many films like The Boy Next Door, Bordertown, and The Mother. 

Back-up dance for Janet Jackson

Long before her stardom and taking on the stage with her astounding performances, J.Lo danced behind some of the biggest stars. One of her earlier gigs was as a back up dancer for none other than the legendary Janet Jackson.

Jennifer was also briefly a part of Janet’s 1993 music video That’s The Way Love Goes. Fans can catch a glimpse of the Dance Again singer in the video for a few seconds.

According to InStyle, the 59-year-old singer had offered Jennifer to join her world tour but she made the tough decision of turning it down, wanting to chase her own dreams.

Just a few years down the line, JLo secured a major role in Selena and went on to release her first album On the 6 in 1999. 

She loved Playing Selena

It’s no surprise that Jennifer did a tremendous job starring in Selena. Over the years she has worked on major productions but she revealed on Good Morning America that she loved playing singer Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 biopic Selena.

It marked her first major in film and helped her gain popularity. She was also extremely dedicated towards the role and determined to do it justice.

Backup dancer for New Kids on the Block

Not only did she dance behind Janet Jackson but she used her amazing dancing skills and performed as a dancer for one of the biggest boy bands of the ’90s New Kids on the Block at the 1991 American Music Awards. 

Learned Pole Dancing

J.Lo made waves in 2019 after her brilliant performance in Hustlers, where she played Romona a fearless dancer who organises a group to con their wealthy clients.

The movie got great feedback from viewers but it was Jennifer’s iconic pole dancing scene that garnered major attention.

Although many people seemed to love the pop icon’s work in the movie, what they didn’t see was the amount of hard work that she put into filming for it.

Talking to Jimmy Kimmel, she explained how she trained really hard for weeks on a portable pole and got a lot of help from a trainer from Cirque du Soleil who trained her to master moves that needed balance, strength and flexibility.

She also revealed that she ended up with a lot of bruises from the experience.