“You have to fight for the things you want.” – Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is a quadruple threat: actress, singer, dancer, and producer.

It was recently reported earlier this month that in March 2019 she got engaged to former MLB phenom Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod).

Jenny from the Bronx has parlayed her talent into major coin.

Her estimated net worth is over $300 million.

Insider reported it as high as $400 million!

So how did Jenny from the block earn her wealth?

Well, you are about to find out.

As you may know, I am on a mission: financial freedom.

Therefore, I started to study the self-made.

How did they get so wealthy? What did they do? What do they do with their 24 hours we are given in a single day?

Today we talk all things J to the L-O! Hello!

Let’s go!!!

STARTING OUT

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in Castle Hill, New York City. Growing up in the Bronx with her parents and siblings she watched how hard her parents worked to make a living as Puerto Ricans living in the richest country in the world.

She knew that she had a responsibility to do well because her parents gave and sacrificed so much.

She was quoted in an interview as saying, “I had to do well. I couldn’t let them (her parents) down.”

Jennifer says she was always training for something. And dance become her go to activity.

DANCING TO THE FRONT

In 1991, Lopez began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color, where she remained a regular until she decided to pursue an acting career in 1993.

These are HER lyric from “Jenny from the Block.” Let J. LO tell you her story.

From In Living Color and movie scripts

To On the 6 to J. Lo to this headline clips

I stayed grounded as the amounts roll in

I’m real, I thought I told you

I really been on Oprah

That’s just me

Nothin phony, don’t hate on me

What you get is what you see

If you have ever seen the Janet Jackson video “That’s the way love Goes,” then you will see a young Jennifer Lopez dancing and talking to Janet. She performed as a dancer for her while as pursuing her dreams of acting.

I love the lyrics to that song and how it starts out.

Like a moth to a flame

Burned by the fire

My love is blind

Can’t you see my desire

That’s the way love goes

So you could say like a moth to a flame, J. LO gravitated towards acting. Haha

You also may remember her dancing with Puffy or P. Diddy, as he goes by now, in the music video “Been Around The World.” That was in 1997. Haven’t seen it. No problem.

I have the footage right here thanks to Youtube 😉 Enjoy!

HER BIG BREAK STARRING AS TEJANO MUSIC SUPERSTAR SELENA

In 1995, the world lost Tejano music’s biggest star Selena Quintanilla. Due to widespread reports of unknown causes of events that surfaced, her family decided to tell the world her story. That became the 1997 film Selena.

Movie poster reads: A story of a girl who had the spirit to believe in a dream and the courage to make it come true.

The film that made Jennifer Lopez a star: Selena.

Released in Summer 1997. Based on the life of Tejano superstar Selena.

In 1997, Lopez played the title character of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in Warner Bros. “Selena.” Lopez was 28 years old when she portrayed the late singer.

After an intense media frenzy, auditions for the role of Selena sparked applications from about 20,000 Latinas from around the globe, one woman was selected that stood out from the bunch: Jennifer Lopez.

The role of a lifetime was won to play Mexican-American music star Selena.

Jennifer Lopez in the film playing Selena.

Fun Fact: People Espanol was started because of Selena.

The real J. LO. She too likes to wear white.

Jennifer Lopez as Selena.

Fun Fact: Selena favorite lipstick was Brick by Chanel, she did her own makeup and her favorite shoe store was Payless. Favorite pizza: Pizza Hut thin crust double pepperoni.

One of my favorite scenes from the film.

If you watch Selena perform, you not she is doing tons of cardio.

Fun Fact: Selena would walk around her neighborhood EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

And don’t take no crap from anyone.

The real Selena Quintanilla Tejano singer and superstar

The album that put her on the map. Selena Live!

Nominated for a GRAMMY in 1994
Selena Live! Best Mexican/American Album

Selena won her first career GRAMMY for Best Mexican-American Album for Live at the 36th GRAMMY Awards in 1994, marking the first time a female Tejano artist won the category.

She was gone less than a year later.

Awards/Accomplishments. In 1987, Selena became a spokesperson for Coca-Cola. Selena won the Tejano Music Award for Best Female Vocalist running every through 1986 to 1996. Received 8 awards at Lo Nuestro Awards, 34 Tejano Music Awards, Kuno’s People’s Choice award, and first Tejano artist to win a Grammy.

Always smiling, laughing, and joking around. That was Selena.

Selena Quintanilla 1971-1995 May she forever Rest In Peace.

The movie Selena would make Jennifer Lopez one of the highest paid Latina’s in film.

Many have reported that she is the highest-paid Latina film actress in history.

It was estimated that she received a $1 million payday for the film.

Her life and BANK ACCOUNT has never been the same.

A STAR IS BORN TO SING

Just keep your head down and work. Success comes when you work harder than everybody else. – Jennifer Lopez

After wrapping the film, Jennifer Lopez decided her next ambition would be recording an album. She set her sights on making this goal happen.

She got a record deal and worked with music super producer Tommy Mottola of Sony.

In an interview she said that people did not believe in her project; therefore, she had to put some of her own money into it.

You get what you give. What you put into things is what you get out of them. – Jennifer Lopez

That pet project would become her first album: On the 6.  

As reported by Insider, Lopez’s debut single “If You Had My Love” was released in May 1999, and it immediately landed on the Billboard charts. In fact, “If You Had My Love” became the first debut single to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” a mere four months earlier.

One month later in June, her debut album “On the 6” was released, effectively solidifying Lopez’s status as a Latin pop artist. Certified by the RIAA, “On the 6” is 3x platinum, selling 3.42 million units worldwide.

She never looked back.

AIN’T IT FUNNY HOW THINGS WORK OUT

When Jennifer Lopez was at her peak, in 1999-2002, she was deigning clothes, singing, dancing, performing, acting, starring in hit films, on the cover of magazines, and putting out perfume fragrances.

The iconic green Versace dress! GRAMMYs 1999.

Caused a sensation and put her on the top of the map. Every news outlet had a picture of THAT dress! A great way to get people talking about you, if they weren’t already.

One of the things that sticks out was when she started going by the name J. LO. She put out an L.P. of the same name. She said her mother loved that name and would say it over and over…J. LO J. LO.

However, what made her a household name was the infamous video with Ja Rule “I’m Real” that was in constant rotation on MTV and BET Total Request Live (TRL).

Fun Fact: Jennifer Lopez Says She Personally Chose That Juicy Couture Tracksuit for Her 2001 “I’m Real” Video with Ja Rule

Here is the video just in case you have not seen it.

She also did the song “Ain’t it Funny.” Again featuring her partner in crime (of making sweet music that is) Ja Rule. Together this pair made magic happen. They just had great chemistry when working together.

Ain’t it funny dropped off the J. LO album on June 20, 2001.

Here are some lyrics for you.

J to the L-O

Hello

Well now you know where I got that from, which I state at the beginning of this post. 😉

Here is the chorus

Ain’t it funny

Baby that you want me, when you had me

Love is crazy, I’m glad I can smile and say

Ain’t it funny

Then came “Jenny from the Block.” This song dropped on September 26, 2002.  One of her HOTTEST music videos! If you had no idea what she was capable or of who she was, then this video stopped all doubts.

The lyrics go like this.

Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got

I’m still, I’m still Jenny from the block

Love my life and my public

Put God first

Then can’t forget to stay real

To me it’s like breathing

Ah yes, she says to stay real or I’m real in this song. An obvious reference to her song I’m real with Ja Rule. 😉

Here is the chorus.

Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got

I’m still, I’m still Jenny from the block

Used to have a little, now I have a lot

No matter where I go, I know where I came from (from the Bronx!)

Check it out here.

Unlike her previous studio albums: On the 6 (1999) and J.Lo (2001), Lopez had a more “hands-on” role on This Is Me… Then. The 2002 album also had more of an adult-R&B sound. Musically, majority of the songs on This Is Me… Then were lyrically “dedicated” to her relationship with then-fiancé, actor Ben Affleck.

The Age newspaper said the album was a “declaration” of love for Affleck.

The many looks of J. LO.

J. LO is Pretty in Pink.

 During an interview, Lopez said “I wrote a lot of songs inspired, in a way, by what I was going through at the time that this album was being made, and he [Affleck] was definitely a big part of that.”

Magazine Covers of Jennifer Lopez.

ON A WORLD TOUR WITH A MIC IN HER HAND

“I have to work, for my soul.” – Jennifer Lopez

Nearly two decades since the release of “On the Six,” Lopez has dropped seven more albums, and has a ninth album slated for release this year.

Lopez has embarked on five tours, and that has undoubtedly added to her net worth. Her first tour, aptly titled “Let’s Get Loud” was in 2001 and she walked away with a reported $765,000 in earnings, according to Money Nation.

The bank balances keep rising as her star does.

Lopez has earned an estimated $90 million for appearing on the big screen, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

She was also a judge on “American Idol” for three years. At a reported $12 million per season, according to Billboard, that’s an impressive $36 million for serving as a mentor to well, the next Jennifer Lopez.

J. Lo is also a business maven.

Just like Rihanna.

See my post Rihanna from music maven to mogul

Aside from her musical and acting talents, Lopez is also a savy businesswoman. In 1998, she founded her clothing line that currently sells swimwear, eyewear, and fragrances. In 2004, her brand earned $300 million in revenue, making J. Lo the 19th richest person under 40, according to Fortune.

A decade later, in 2012, J. Lo set out for her first worldwide tour, the Dance Again World Tour. After 78 shows, this would be Lopez’s highest-earning tour, and she pocketed $50,362,300, according to Money Nation.

If you look at the difference in her first tour in 2001 and her one in 2012 ($765,000 to $50,362,300), you will notice it took over a decade to earn this type of money.

What does that tell me?

That building wealth TAKES TIME.

It took me 6 years to go from saving $1 a day to $50 a month to $15,000 a year!

I make a goal and then chart a course to get there no matter how long it takes.

Just like Jennifer Lopez.

Between her current residency in Las Vegas and worldwide clothing line, J. Lo is hardly short on funds.

On January 20, 2016, she debuted at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino her “All I Have” residency, dazzling fans with sequined pieces and elaborate sets.

On August 13, her shows reached an incredible milestone: $1 million in ticket sales, the highest grossing show in Planet Hollywood’s history, according to Billboard.

Between June 2016-June 2017, Lopez made $38 million dollars, consequently landing her at the #11 spot on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Female Celebrities of 2017. She’s also already made an estimated $47 million in 2018, according to Forbes.

Given her newly announced acting project, anticipated 9th album and a just-released makeup line, Jennifer Lopez will likely only see her cash flow increase.

All I have to say about JLO is this: Veni, vidi, vici. Latin translation: “I came; I saw; I conquered.”

Well Jennifer Lopez came, saw, and conquered show business.

In the illustrious words, and famous favorite saying of Selena: “You go girl.”

I have learned a lot from Jennifer Lopez. That with hard work, drive, passion, determination, consistency, and persistence you can achieve great things.

However, what I have learned most of all…is that she is still Jenny from the Block. 😉

For more posts I have written about the self-made you can check out my other posts

Dwayne Johnson: The Rock Solid and The Fast and The Furious Way To Make Millions

Halle Berry on success and failure: Why She and I Continue To Save So Much