Jennifer Lopez has been a household name since the premiere of Selena in 1997. In the past 20 years, Lopez has made a name for herself as a true performer, being a singer, a dancer, and an actress. So it was no surprise when the NFL named her and Shakira as their headliners for their 2020 halftime show. The Netflix documentary Halftime follows the crazy months leading up to Lopez’s hypnotizing Super Bowl performance.
Lopez’s parent’s immigrated from Puerto Rico to the Bronx, N.Y. where Lopez and her two sisters grew up. She was surrounded by tough women and knew what it meant to work hard. Lopez said it was ingrained in her head not to be a singer, because her sister was the singer, while her other sister was the smart one. She said she was either the athlete or the dancer, but Lopez talked about her mother’s love of popular musicals and how Lopez dreamed of being a triple threat. Most people think of her as a singer who became a great actor, but before any of that she was a dancer, and at the age of 18 she left home to focus on her dance career. She would take any job she got and eventually Lopez landed herself a job as a fly girl on In Living Color.
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Lopez always wanted to be an actor, but no one would take her seriously because of her dance background. Eventually, Lopez was given her chance with Selena, a biopic about the Tejano star Selena. Lopez received massive praise for her role, which launched her into stardom, becoming the first Latina actress to make over $1 million a picture. Lopez said her idea of success is to constantly be evolving. She said she wanted to do it all, which caused her to pursue music.
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With hit songs like ‘Waiting for Tonight’ and ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing,’ Lopez became a global sensation. Jennifer Lopez instantly became a name that could sell papers, and the tabloids used that to their advantage, attacking her personal life. During her interviews in Halftime, Lopez said she had low self-esteem during this time and believed she “didn’t belong.” She continued by saying, “I felt like I was in an abusive relationship.”
Halftime also interviewed Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Lopez and Halle Barry’s producing partner, who said Lopez was “a dancer who became an actor, who became a singer, who became a global icon. She’s a woman of color who had the audacity to pursue her dreams.” When Ben Affleck ask Lopez if it bothered her, he said she responded, “I’m Latina. I’m a woman. I expected this. You just don’t expect it. You expect to be treated fairly.”
The Rebirth of Jennifer Lopez
Although Lopez has starred in big movies like Maid in Manhattan and Monster-In-Law, she has received a lot of hate for her work. Lopez received multiple Razzie Award nominations throughout her career and said she wanted to quit. Lopez took a step back from her hectic schedule and the glare of the limelight to figure out who she was, and to be a mother to her two children.
American Idol was Lopez’s first big gig after the birth of her children, and she said it reignited her passion. This would lead to her involvement as a producer and actor in the film Hustlers. Lopez said the role of Romona was exciting and the type of role she had fought to play her entire career.
Lopez had a lot riding on Hustlers, knowing that its success could relaunch her career as an actress. Hustlers forced Lopez to do some of her best work, saying there was “no hiding” in this role. Critics felt the same way and praised Lopez and Hustlers, who instantly received Oscar buzz. The film made people remember why she was a movie star. Lopez said, “I felt like all my dreams were coming at me like an avalanche.” Although everyone felt Lopez was Oscar-bound, the film was completely snubbed.
Jennifer Lopez’s Halftime
In 2020, the NFL was under massive scrutiny for the handling of Colin Kaepernick in 2016 and the years that followed. With the climate of the country changing, the NFL decided to bring Rock Nation in to assist them with choosing their halftime performer. Rumors swirled as the NFL waited till the last minute to pick a performer for the biggest stage in entertainment. Historically, there has only been one headliner for the Super Bowl, with it being the performers’ choice to have a guest. But in 2020, the NFL felt they needed two Latina performers, Lopez and Shakira, to do the job of what was typically one. Lopez wasn’t going to let that deter her, saying, “My whole life I’ve been battling and battling to be heard… to be seen, to be taken seriously. And now I have this incredible opportunity to show the world who I am.”
Both performers had been working for years to get to this point and had collected a massive discography. With only 12 minutes for the entire performance, they had to work together to deliver a cohesive show, and the original Netflix documentary does a great job of depicting the mounting tension behind the halftime show. Lopez commented she was never into politics but continued, “I was living in a United States I did not recognize.” Seeing the handling of immigration during the Trump administration, Lopez stated, “It made me realize I have a responsibility to not be quiet, to not just leave the politics to everybody else.” Both Lopez and Shakira felt they need their show to make a statement.
Even though Lopez had an intense schedule, limited stage time, and pushback at every turn, she was able to put on a beautifully crafted and entertaining halftime show. Lopez wouldn’t make any sacrifices for the things she believed in, and it paid off tremendously as her performance was hailed a massive success. Lopez would go on to perform ‘This Land Is Your Land’ at President Biden’s inauguration, mixing in a piece of the pledge of allegiance in Spanish.
Halftime shows all sides of Lopez: the mother, the performer, and the human. Sometimes the public can forget that celebrities are just like everyone else; they have families, they have dreams, they make mistakes, and sometimes they even get sick. Lopez is truly an underrated performer, and Halftime proves how much credit she deserves for all the work she has done. From starring in almost 40 films and having nearly 15 billion music streams, to even being created as the impetus for the creation of Google Images, Jennifer Lopez is at the top of her career with no signs of slowing down. She said it best herself, “I’m not done. Not even close.”
