Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in The Bronx, New York City, to teacher Lupe López and computer technician David López. The two Puerto Ricans were brought to the continental United States as children and eventually met in New York City. Their daughters would be raised in a stable, middle-class environment.
Jennifer had always wished to be a multi-tasking superstar. She grew up listening to a wide range of musical genres, primarily Afro-Caribbean rhythms such as salsa, merengue, and bachata, as well as mainstream music such as pop, hip-hop, and R&B. Although she loved music, she was also drawn to the film industry. West Side Story, a Rita Moreno musical, was her greatest influence (1961). Jennifer began singing and dancing lessons when she was five years old. Jennifer was a Catholic schoolgirl who attended a Catholic elementary school called Holy Family in The Bronx for eight years before graduating from an all-girls prep school called Preston High School after a four-year stay.
Jennifer was an outstanding athlete in high school, participating in track and field as well as tennis. She spent the majority of her childhood in a two-story house in the Castle Hill neighborhood. Jennifer moved out of her parent’s house when she was 18 years old. During this time, Lopez worked at a law firm during the day and danced at night. She briefly worked in a law office after high school. She continued to take dance classes at night during this time. She left home at the age of eighteen because her mother was concerned about her decision to pursue a career in show business. Her breakthrough came when she was hired as a fly girl on Fox’s hit comedy In Living Color (1990). Lopez went on to dance for famed singer-actress Janet Jackson after a two-year stint at In Living Color (1990), where actress Rosie Perez served as choreographer. Her first major film was Gregory Nava’s My Family (1995), and her career took off when she played the late Tejana singer Selena in Selena.
Lynda Lopez’s parents: Guadalupe Rodríguez, and David Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, and grew up in the Castle Hill neighborhood. Her parents, David López and Guadalupe Rodrguez were born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States as children. David worked as a computer technician at Guardian Insurance Company after leaving the army. Guadalupe was a homemaker for the first ten years of Lopez’s life before working as a Tupperware salesperson and kindergarten and gym teacher. They divorced in the 1990s after 33 years of marriage.
