Childhood and early work

Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in the Castle Hill from The Bronx, New York.  The middle Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez, she had a brother, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda . David worked the night shift at Guardian Insurance Company, before becoming a computer technician at the company, while Guadalupe is a housewife. When Lopez was born, the family lived in a small apartment. A few years later, his parents had saved enough money to be able to buy a two-story house, which is regarded as a big problem for the relatively poor families [4] At the age of five years, Lopez began taking singing and dancing. lesson. He toured New York with the school when she was seven years old  His parents stressed the importance of work ethic and able to speak English .. They encouraged their three daughters to put on a show at home. Singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so that they will stay "out of trouble" Lopez spent the entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at Preston High School [6] At school, Lopez doing gymnastics, ran track at the national level and is a member of the school's softball team ..  He excelled athletically than academically, compete in the national championship track  In 1984., At the age of fifteen, she began dating David Cruz, her first boyfriend.  While attending her high school years, Lopez learned about the casting film looking for teenage girls a few minor roles. He auditioned and was instrumental in My Little Girl (1986), a low-budget movie co-written and directed by Connie Kaiserman.  Lopez acted as Myra, a young woman at a center for troubled girls. After he finished filming his role in the film, Lopez knew that he wanted to be "famous movie star."
To please his parents, though, he enrolled at Baruch College, only to drop out after one semester. He told his parents his dream of becoming a movie star, but they ensisted that it was "really stupid" idea and that "no Latin to do that". Differences of opinion led Lopez to move from their family home and into an apartment in Manhattan. During this period, Lopez appeared in a regional production of the musical: Jesus Christ, Superstar! and Oklahoma. From there, he was hired for the chorus in Golden Broadway Musical, which toured Europe for five months. He was not happy with the role, as he is the only member of the choir for not having a solo. He then got a job at Synchronicity performances in Japan, where it acts as a dancer, singer and choreographer. Lopez was selected as a backup dancer for the New Kids on th Block in 1991 and performed with them during their performance of "Games" at the 8th Annual American Music Awards.  Shortly after, Lopez gained her first regular high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television program In Living Color. He applied for the job after one of the cast members is not available to continue the show. Than 2,000 applicants, Lopez made it to the finals. He was the runner-up, but finally accepted the role when the winner can not accept the job. He moved with Cruz to Los Angeles to film series and remained a regular cast member until 1993 when he decided to pursue acting full-time career. Before leaving, Lopez had worked as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson American recording artist  Lopez is set to tour with Janet Jackson on her World Tour in late 1993, but pulled out when she wanted to do it  "own thing."
Lopez received her first professional acting performance in the film drama direct-to-video Lost in the Wild (1993), co-starred with Lindsay Wagner and Robert Loggia.  Later in 1993, Lopez signed a deal with CBS to co-star in the television series The second possibility. The show was canceled after only six episodes aired, because the sets were destroyed by the 1994 Northridge earthquake  A spin-off of the series, titled Hotel Malibu was launched later that year. It also ran only for a short time and, like the Second Chance, received negative reviews.  Lopez receives first major big screen role in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama My Family, describing the young Mary. The film, starring essay Morales, Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos, was critically acclaimed Although his role was uncredited, Lopez received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female for her performance ..  In November, Lopez starred in Money Train with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, as New York City transit cop. The film is facing the negative reviews and is considered a box office bomb, with a budget of $ 68 million, the film grossed a total of $ 77 million worldwide  In August 1996, Lopez had a supporting role in the comedy. Jack  With a budget of $ 45 million, the film grossed a total of $ 59 in the country .. The film received generally negative reviews.