Celebrity Interview - Jennifer Lopez
A New Marc of Maturity
Jennifer Lopez A New Marc of Maturity
The sultry Latin beauty insists her prima donna tantrums are a thing of the past, along with outlandish demands for Egyptian sheets, white walls, purified water and Cristal champagne. "I'm Jennifer Lopez," she explains. "I've finally grown more sure of who I am. It does seem ironic that it has taken me more than a decade to basically get back to who I am."
It would appear that, as she once famously sang, the star just wants to be Jenny from the block again.
Jennifer - who provoked worldwide scorn by claiming she was still a "real" person despite being named the richest Hispanic in Hollywood by Forbes magazine - even says the desire to drown herself in "bling" jewellery and expensive furs has lessened recently. "I don't enjoy shopping like I used to," she admits.
So what has caused this sudden urge to get back to basics? The answer is 38-year-old singer Marc Anthony. Following a rollercoaster romance with Puff Daddy, her high-profile engagement to Ben Affleck and failed marriages to Ojani Noa and backing dancer Cris Judd, Jennifer seems to have finally found a stable relationship.
The star briefly dated Marc in 1999, before heading off to pursue her dreams. He went on to marry and divorce twice, but a mutual friend, chat show host Rosie O'Donnell, knew they were destined to be together. "There was always going to be a Jennifer and Marc," she says. Since marrying Marc two years ago in a surprisingly low-profile ceremony in her backyard, Jennifer has become someone who loves to stay at home watching TV and fetching cold drinks for her man. "Marc and I are a team. He keeps me grounded."
As famous for her voluptuous curves as she is for her singing and acting, Jennifer decided to take a break from her fast-paced decadent lifestyle after realising she needed to find out who she really was.
It seems the main motivation behind her drastic transformation was the fear of yet another failed marriage. Determined to make it past her first wedding anniversary, Jennifer took time out to focus on making her marriage last. "I really wanted it to work. I've made so many mistakes in the past," she says.
The biggest test of her relationship with Marc came when he produced her latest album - her first Spanish record - Como Una Mujer Amore. She is fiercely proud of the album of love songs, admitting, "It is the only album I've ever recorded that I listen to in my car."
For the first time in her life, the 37-year-old has found the perfect balance between love and work.
As a child growing up in the Bronx, Jennifer was always determined to become a singer, dancer and actress. She was, she says, "completely single-minded with ambition to spare".
Jennifer - who became the first female to have a film (The Wedding Planner) and album (J.Lo) at number one at the same time - is used to forging the way for Latin women.
Salma Hayek recently claimed Latino actresses only landed supporting roles until she and Jennifer came along. "Before us, Latinas only had roles that were part of the backdrop, as the maid or the prostitute. We changed that," Salma said.
Jennifer reinforced her position as a Hispanic Hollywood pioneer by becoming the first Latin actress to earn $1 million a movie and grace the cover of Vogue magazine.
With six solo albums, five number one US hits, 48 million records sold worldwide and the third all-time biggest-selling remix album in history, her music career has also enjoyed success.
Her debut fragrance Glow was a top seller in nine countries and her fashion lines JLO by Jennifer Lopez and Sweetface continue to fly off the rails and grace catwalks across the world.
Designers from Tom Ford to Louis Vuitton are desperate for their clothes to be seen on her sizzling size 10 figure.
She opened Cuban restaurant Madre's in 2002 and was named the most influential Hispanic entertainer in the US by People en Español magazine earlier this year.
"Once you start achieving you just can't seem to stop," says the star who has an estimated fortune of $110 million.
Despite appearing in several critically derided movies, including Gigli and Jersey Girl, Jennifer's acting career began promisingly after she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Selena and smouldered onscreen alongside George Clooney in Out of Sight in 1998.
Now she is determined to be taken seriously and her latest role in Bordertown certainly carries more weight than Monster-in-Law. Bordertown - which Jennifer also produced - is based on the true story of 300 unsolved murders in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Here, Jennifer talks about her love for Marc Anthony and her friendship with Victoria Beckham. She also wades into the size zero debate and confirms the demise of her demanding alter ego.
You seem pretty content with life recently. Do you feel different since you married Marc?
I feel sort of excited at the moment. I don't think I've ever felt this settled, balanced or focused in my life. And it feels just amazing. I'm not J.Lo any more. That's all gone with all the ridiculous stories about diva tantrums and Egyptian sheets. That's all my past. I'm Jennifer Lopez. I think, as a woman, I've finally grown more sure of who I am.
What made you want to change your lifestyle?
I wanted peace and balance in my life. I knew I could not continue at the pace I was going or else I'd just end up going crazy. I needed time out - you can't live your life at that level of madness. When it first happened it was fun. But I never had any time to stop and think. I decided to get off the spinning carousel ride. It was a definite choice I made and I have to say it was quite a scary one because even though you know that you feel you want the madness to stop, once you stop it and you get off, your first instinct is to panic and then jump right back on again.
What did you do during your career break?
I wanted to take stock and most of all I wanted my marriage to work. I so wanted it to work so I had to give myself a break. Believe me, I've made all the mistakes where relationships are concerned. I've been burnt, bashed and beaten but I've never allowed myself to stop believing that one day I would get it right. But I knew I had to give this love a chance to really grow without being swamped by the whole celebrity circus. My life was always about love and work, love and work, love and work. But I was always so extreme about both things. I never managed to get the balance right until now. And I had to take time out to learn that balance. I needed time just hanging out with my husband, my friends and my family.
You and Marc grew up in Puerto Rican families close to each other in Brooklyn. Did your similar upbringings help love to blossom?
That has been so important for our relationship. Marc has known me for years. He is from my culture, from my background and he totally understands me both emotionally and creatively.
We have always kept in touch. He has seen me through every stage; he has seen me in good times and bad times and he was always just there. He was my friend first and he knew my family. Ours was a relationship that developed slowly but on very solid foundations.
What made you decide to have such a low-profile wedding?
When we married I didn't want anyone to know because I just wanted it to be quiet and private, and I'm glad to say I'd grown up enough in my life at that point to realise that a relationship has to be worked on.
What have your past failed romances taught you about love?
You know, when you are very young, you think that it's all about the big dramatic stuff. The diamonds and the excitement and that sort of thing. As you get older you realise that the things that keep a relationship together is the more humdrum domestic stuff. I wanted to have that with Marc.
Do you regret any of your past high-profile romances?
No, because I'm so happy right now. I know people have criticised me a lot in the past and I am the first to admit I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. You see I now think of myself as the great explorer of love. A kind of Christopher Columbus of romance. I've been through some rough seas and had some disasters but in the end I found what I was looking for. Can you believe I just said that? But it is all true.
How did you know your feelings for Marc were different from your previous relationships?
I wanted to stay at home and cook for him. I wanted to be there when he came in and be the one doing something small like bringing him a Coke when he sat down at the table; I wanted to look after his needs.
Are you enjoying married life?
Oh yeah! I've learnt to be a pretty good cook. I do lots of Italian and Puerto Rican dishes but his favourite is a simple breaded steak. For me a romantic night in is cooking a meal for Marc, lighting a big fire in the house, putting on some music and then cuddling up together and watching television - we're both totally hooked on Grey's Anatomy.
So would you and Marc rather be at home watching TV than on the red carpet?
For us a great evening is a night at home. I don't dress up. He likes my hair down and naturally curly and for me to look classic and relaxed in maybe a pair of jeans and a sweater. It actually feels so amazing after years of going out so much to have these nights in at home with my husband.
Is it true you are close friends with Victoria Beckham?
I met Victoria at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding. She's such a sweetie. I mean, this is a girl who knows about fashion. Her clothes are just amazing. She's so stylish. But the best thing about Victoria is that she's got this really funny British sense of humour. And David is so sweet. I'm very glad they've moved to Los Angeles. She's a great girl.
Do you ever feel under pressure to become a size zero like other Hollywood stars?
I couldn't possibly ever be a size zero. I just don't see how I could get down to that size and still be healthy. It wouldn't work. I have a butt, I have boobs and I have a woman's curves and there is absolutely no way I'd see them go to zero. I hate to look in a magazine and see a picture of a girl who looks so thin she looks unhappy and as if she just needs someone to give her a meal.
There are girls out there who are naturally thin and who look great but it's got to the point where models are dropping dead on catwalks because it's all about being thin. That's insane.
Are you happy being curvier than other actresses?
In Hollywood I've always been seen as a big girl. But I like my body. My husband likes my body and for most of my adult life my body hasn't gone up or down, it's remained the same - give or take fours pounds. I eat meat, I eat carbohydrates - I even eat McDonalds. What I don't do is ever over-eat. It does seem ironic that it has taken me more than a decade to basically get back to who I am. I am incredibly proud of my culture and I think I am a woman totally defined by my culture. My temperament, my body shape, the way I am is all very much Puerto Rican.
How do you keep in shape?
I don't really eat desserts and I can limit the chocolate chip cookies to one or two. But I completely know my body. If I put on a few pounds I feel it immediately and I just get a bit stricter with myself. I'm not obsessive. I work out with a trainer two or three times a week but I'll go months at a time without any exercise at all. I just keep myself in check.
What is your top beauty secret?
For me, looking good is all about looking healthy and the ultimate beauty secret is about being happy in your self.
What do you like to do on your days off?
I love spending time with my girlfriends. The best days are coffee and shopping trips. We do the malls and the high street stores like H&M and Gap. I so totally love to shop. It's the ultimate feel-good cure.
What inspired you to record a whole album in Spanish?
Como Una Mujer Amore (How A Woman Loves) is all about love. And that's what I know about - the good and the bad. All the song titles are about love, the different aspects of love for a woman. The way you feel. I almost don't want to translate them because they sound so much more romantic in Spanish. Working on my Spanish album gave me so much confidence as a woman. It didn't mean that I would never record an English album again; it just meant I could take what I learnt to my next project.
Marc produced the record - did working together test your relationship?
Oh yeah. Working with Marc just made it the best recording experience of my life. As a singer I often feel very insecure. My anxieties made me shut off a lot to the emotions of the music. If you think too hard or worry too much, you just don't free yourself as a performer. Marc just looked at me and said, 'I know you can do this. Sing the words. You know what they mean. You can do it.'
I'd go into the recording booth and for the first time ever I'd feel I was flying when I was singing. He gave me the confidence to do the best work I've ever done. We would have our rows about maybe adding guitar sounds or removing guitar sounds, but it was all very civilised. I'd listen to his opinion and then he'd listen to mine.
Are you proud of the album?
It's the one album I'm proudest of. The one album I'd take with me anywhere. We kept the sound as simple as possible. It is a woman singing love songs. No tricks. Just my emotion, my voice. From now on in, with everything I do, I'm stepping it up one level.
Did your parents always support your desire to be a singer and actress?
Absolutely. When I told my mum that I wanted to go into show business she gave me the best ever advice. She said, 'Hey, you want to be in that business. Don't ever let me catch you crying.' It always makes me think. I could sit here and talk about problems because I do have my insecurities just like everyone else. I've had some tough times in the past few years because I've gone through this process of adjustment. But I'm never going to ask for sympathy because I know what I have is unbelievable. You have to be grateful for what you have in life and make the best of what you have.
