Jennifer Lopez's Most Underrated Job Title Is "Best-Selling Author"
Who’s had a better decade than Jennifer Lopez? I mean, it opened with billboard domination and closed with Oscar buzz and a Versace runway. Keep in mind, she still has three whole weeks left to cement her mark on the 2010s. Who knows what Dec. 7-31 will bring … A presidential bid? The erection of her own amusement park? What could be a more fitting rollercoaster anthem than “Let’s Get Loud”?
VIDEO: Jennifer Lopez's Guide to Reinventing Yourself
Celebrate the J. Lo-iest of the decade’s J. Lo moments below.
Early 2010s: 2010-2013
Career: Though it’s always a good time to be J. Lo, the early 2010s was a particularly prime moment. This was the dawn of “On the Floor” and a whole new Jeneration of party people was gyrating to Lopez (and Pitbull, I guess) across Brazil, Morocco, London to Ibiza, straight to L.A., New York, Vegas to Africa.
In 2011, Lopez further revitalized her image by joining the judges’ panel on American Idol.
Her Hollywood successes weren’t quite on par with her musical coups at this time, with roles in the critically panned The Back-Up Plan, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and Parker. To be quite honest, those films didn’t deserve her.
Music, movies, TV, what more could this woman possibly do in a four-year span?? Release nine fragrances (nine!), that’s what.
Personal: Though this era marked something of a rebirth professionally, it also marked the end of a pivotal chapter in Lopez’s personal life: her marriage to Marc Anthony.
After 7 years together, the pair announced their “amicable separation.” And, guys, it really was amicable — they hang out and record music together and everything.
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Post-split, Lopez began dating backup dancer Casper Smart.
Fashion: Though Lopez has always stood squarely in the “more is more” fashion camp, she’s consistently found a way to translate elements of sartorial extravagance into classic elegance. In the early 2010s, more than ever, she made a case for this juxtaposition.
Mid 2010s: 2014-2016
Career: To think, it was only five years ago that Ms. Lopez blessed us with the glory that is “I Luh Ya Papi,” and, to a lesser degree of importance (to me), “Booty.” Lopez also became a best-selling author at this time with her memoir True Love. On the film front, Lopez returned from a two-year movie hiatus with campy thriller The Boy Next Door. Like all the years before and afterward, 2016 was major for the multi-hyphenate — it marked both the debut of her NBC police drama Shades of Blue and her now legendary All I Have Las Vegas residency.
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Personal: Lopez dated Smart on-and-off during this period, and was rumored to have dated longtime Dancing with the Stars performer Maksim Chmerkovskiy and a rapper named Drake (heard of him?).
Fashion: Always a proponent of the naked dress, during this time Lopez really stretched the boundaries of what was considered a functional clothing-to-nakedness ratio.
Late 2010s: 2017-2019
Career: Like a fine wine, J. Lo has only improved with age — and so, too, have her creative choices. Though Shades of Blue sang its swan song in 2018, Lopez flourished in other acting pursuits. First, she starred in Second Act, a somewhat formulaic feel-good romantic comedy that was refreshingly much more com than rom. Then, Lopez blew us (and the Academy?) away with her turn as stripper-turned-scammer Ramona in critical hit Hustlers.
Adding to an already incredible year, decade, half-century, et al., Lopez celebrated her 50th birthday with her commemorative It’s My Party tour.
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Personal: Lopez entered a new romantic era when she began dating reformed MLB playboy Alex Rodriguez in 2017. After two years together, A-Rod popped the question while he and Lopez enjoyed a romantic beachside vacation in March 2019. Jen isn’t ruling out having children with her fourth husband-to-be, but last we checked, Rodriguez was working to “unpack” that sentiment.
Instagram/@Jlo/Getty
Fashion: Jen truly crossed over into sartorial fearlessness during this time, capping off a decade of fashion hits with a new take on a Lopez classic: the plunging green Versace dress.
The Decade to Come
A wedding! A Super Bowl! An Owen Wilson movie! An Oscar?? And we’re only talking 2020 …
