Who

Lopez is a pop singer, dancer, and actress known as much for her generous backside, tabloid romances, and contract riders as for her music career and roles in films like Out of Sight and the epic flop Gigli.

Backstory

Jenny from the block left her humble Bronx neighborhood for the West Coast to become a "Fly Girl" on In Living Color in 1990. After four years on the show and a stint as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, Lopez had a role on the short-lived CBS soap opera Second Chances. But it wasn't until she portrayed tragic Latina singer Selena in the 1997 film of the same name that her career took off. She was nominated for a Golden Globe, and had roles in the abysmal Anaconda and U Turn before her surprisingly competent performance in 1998's Out of Sight. A year later, Lopez made a play for music stardom when she released her first album, On the 6. Although she had no vocal talent to speak of—the album remains a testament the power of good songwriting and production—it brought Lopez her first #1 single. Since then, she's appeared in more than a dozen films, recorded half a dozen albums, released two fashion lines, and stamped her name on two fragrances. And if she gets hungry, she can always pop into the Latin restaurant in Pasadena she opened in 2002, Madre's.

Of note

In a weird twist of fate, the musically inept Lopez has had a surprising number of hit singles (like "Jenny from the Block" and "My Love Don't Cost a Thing"), but never saw her movie career take off, despite her adequate acting skills. She seems to have trouble picking the right projects: In the past several years, she's starred in an unprecedented number of box office stinkers, like Maid in Manhattan, Jersey Girl, Monster in Law and possibly the worst film of all time, Gigli. She had good intentions in 2006 when she starred in the indie flick Bordertown (about the murder epidemic in Juarez, Mexico), but the movie was resoundingly booed at the Berlin International Film Festival. Unfortunately, she didn't fare much better with the 2007 biopic El Cantante, in which she co-starred with her emaciated husband Marc Anthony.

But although her career has cooled off quite a bit in the past few years, she still manages to stir up volumes of press thanks to the minutiae of her personal life, her extravagant tastes, and legendarily diva-like behavior. In contract riders, she requires that her dressing room be decorated entirely in white—and that includes the furniture, drapes, flowers and candles (which must be Diptyque). Memorably, she also once sent a three-page litany of special requests to a recording studio, including a demand for special light bulbs to make her look more "desirable."

Keeping score

Forbes ranked J. Lo ninth on its list of the 20 richest women in entertainment in 2007, estimating her net worth at about $110 million. These days, she commands about $15 million for each terrible picture she cranks out.

For the record

J. Lo's well-publicized derriere, to which Salon once devoted an entire essay, was once reportedly insured to the tune of $1 billion. Although she's never confirmed this, she's also never denied it.

Personal

J. Lo has walked the aisle three times. Her first hubby was Ojani Noa, who sued her following their divorce for wrongful termination (he managed her restaurant) and threatened to publish a tell-all about her. Love and the law also went hand-in-hand for Lopez during her romance with Sean "Diddy" Combs: In 1999, she was taken to a police precinct in handcuffs following a shootout outside a club in Midtown, After a brief (and boring) marriage to backup dancer Cris Judd, Lopez enjoyed a well-publicized romance with actor Ben Affleck. She took her third plunge into matrimony with crooner Marc Anthony in 2004, a week after he divorced his previous wife. In 2008, the couple had twins, Max and Emme.

Habitat

J. Lo and Marc divide their time between New York and Miami, where they bought a penthouse in the wave-shaped Icon building for $9.9 million. (It features interiors by Philippe Starck, a private pool, and a 6,000 square-foot balcony.) Their Long Island home was recently redecorated by Thom Filicia of Queer Eye fame, who outfitted her closet with a crystal chandelier.