Jennifer Lopez, also called lovingly by her fans as JLo, is America’s highest paid Hispanic actress. She has had a prolific and versatile acting career that stemmed from debuting in a biopic to starring in various animated feature films. Despite taking a break from acting at one point due to her motherly duties, Lopez returned to the scene stronger than ever.
Featuring her breakout role to the one that brought her mainstream success, here are some of Jennifer Lopez’s best performances, ranked:
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8 Shall We Dance? (2004)
Miramax
Directed by Peter Chelsom, Shall We Dance? is a romantic-comedy film, and a remake of the 1996 Japanese film of the same name. Lopez shines as Paulina, a seasoned Latin dancer, who is icy at first, but soon warms up when she notices people genuinely cherishing her craft. It is a stellar performance, that is an equal mix of both excellent acting and dancing, and makes everyone want to take up an art form.
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John (Richard Gere) is a lawyer, who feels unsatisfied with his monotonous daily life. He passes by a dance studio every day home from work, and feels drawn to Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), the forlorn-looking dancer often seen practicing there. In his pursuit, John signs up for ballroom dancing lessons, though he soon comes to realize that he enjoys the art more than he has ever enjoyed anything before.
7 An Unfinished Life (2005)
Adapted from the novel by Mark Spragg, An Unfinished Life is an American drama film that is directed by Lasse Hallström. Jennifer Lopez plays the role of Jean, a single mother struggling to make ends meet. This role was nothing short of brilliant in exercising Lopez’s acting chops for more serious, dramatic roles.
A gruesome bear attack leaves two Wyoming ranchers: Einar (Robert Redford) and Mitch (Morgan Freeman), affected in different ways. While Mitch is now subjected to walking with crutches, Einar uses emotional crutches to cope with his loss. When Einar’s estranged daughter-in-law Jean (Jennifer Lopez) shows up on his doorstep with her young daughter, Griff (Becca Gardner), the ranchers’ quiet lives take a sudden turn.
6 Blood and Wine (1996)
Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Bob Rafelson, this neo-noir crime thriller is a must-watch for all fans of the genre. Lopez makes the most out of her role as Gabriela, a Cuban woman who is the mistress of a ruthless wine merchant. Despite being reduced to the femme fatale for most of the film, she makes a turnaround at the end, taking her own decisions. Blood and Wine features a great deal of empowerment energy, which is much needed for the role.
Alex Gates (Jack Nicholson) is a debt-ridden wine merchant who is not on good terms with his family. Out of desperation, Alex comes up with a plan to steal a diamond necklace from his rich client’s house, with the help of his mistress, Gabriela (Jennifer Lopez). However, the plan never seems to work as things after things continue to go wrong, leading Alex along a dark downward spiral.
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5 U Turn (1997)
Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group
Adapted from the novel Stray Dogs by John Ridley, U Turn is an American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Oliver Stone. Jennifer Lopez brings her A-game as Grace McKenna, a seemingly ordinary woman who has every man in the film bowing at her twisted will. With her cool demeanor and chilling ruthlessness, Lopez does an excellent job of striking fear into the audience’s hearts.
Debt-ridden drifter Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) is fleeing from creditors, when his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. There, he comes across a father-daughter duo: Jake (Nick Nolte) and Grace McKenna (Jennifer Lopez), who are secretly a married couple. Both approach Bobby with the proposition to kill the other, promising him a large sum of money.
4 Selena (1997)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Written and directed by Gregory Nava, this biographical musical drama film takes the audience on a journey into the life of Selena Quintanilla, known as the “Queen of Tejano music.” Lopez plays her most important role to date, as the Latin musical sensation, Selena. The film earned her immense praise for her acting range, with critics calling it a “star-making performance.”
Selena follows the story of the Mexican-American singing sensation, from her days busking as Selena Quintanilla Pérez, to performing for sold-out crowds as simply Selena, up until the day of her devastating murder at the ripe age of 23.
3 Hustlers (2019)
STX Entertainment
Adapted from the New York Magazine article, “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler, this crime-comedy film is directed by Lorene Scafaria. Led predominantly by a female ensemble cast and crew, The Hustlers also features Lopez as a producer, and in a role that is sure to leave a lasting impact. Jennifer Lopez stars as Ramona Vega, a veteran stripper and the mentor and mastermind behind the events of the film.
Destiny (Constance Wu) struggles to make ends meet as a stripper, when she befriends Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), the ace stripper, at her workplace. When the 2008 economic crisis strikes, the two briefly lose touch, reuniting when Ramona proposes a brilliant new plan to take down the elite of Wall Street.
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2 Antz (1998)
DreamWorks PicturesFilmFlexUniversal Pictures
Directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson, the animated adventure-comedy film, Antz, marks the first animated film from DreamWorks Animation Studios. Jennifer Lopez brings her confident charm to the screen as Azteca, a confident, no-nonsense worker ant who is loyal to her friends, and knows exactly how to charm others into getting her way.
Z (Woody Allen) is an honest worker ant who is tired of his insignificant life, and longs for adventure. He comes across Princess Bala (Sharon Stone) at the ant colony’s bar one night, falling in love with her and joining the ant army to see her more often. Unfortunately for Z, Princess Bala is already engaged to the ruthless General Mandible (Gene Hackman), who has nefarious plans for the worker ant colony.
1 Out of Sight (1998)
Universal Pictures
Adapted from the novel by Elmore Leonard, Out of Sight is a crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh. With a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film was critically acclaimed, earning Lopez two consecutive nominations for best actress with her portrayal of a gritty, hardcore U.S. Marshal.
Jack Foley (George Clooney) robs banks for a living, a profession that lands him in prison. When trying to escape from a Florida prison, he is forced to share a car trunk with Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), a U.S. Marshal. After this getaway is complete, the two continue to run into each other in various comedic high stakes scenarios.
