You've got to love yourself first. You've got to be okay on your own before you can be okay with somebody else.
— Jennifer Lopez
Early on, my family really made me love who I was and what I looked like.
I think a lot about teaching my kids to work hard.
I like to maintain a certain sense of fantasy. At home, do I have the full hair and makeup? No. But I might have the nice dress on.
Being an artist doesn't start because you're 21, and it doesn't end because you're 51. You are who you are until the day you die.
The biggest insecurity I had was my singing. Even though I had sold 70 million records, there was this feeling like, I'm not good at this.
I watched my parents. My dad worked nights, and I was aware of how much he was doing for us. My mom was a Tupperware lady and also worked at the school. I always felt that I couldn't let them down. And I had a natural discipline from early on. I was always training for something.
I seriously feel like the best days are ahead, and I like the idea of getting to do everything I did before but with more knowledge, experience, and street smarts. There's a certain love, appreciation, and gratitude that you have at 40 that you don't have when you're younger, and it makes every accomplishment feel so much better.
A romantic comedy has to be funny and make you think about life; but the obstacle that has to be overcome is key.
I have to work, for my soul.
Once you have a lot of success, you become a target in many ways.
I am a lover. And with my kids I am even softer. I realize with my son, I have to sometimes be tough, especially now when he's pushing boundaries. With my daughter, I can get a little stern with her and she pretty much will listen.
When I was young, I was just about hard work. But as I got older, I did experience anxiety, doubt, judgment, and it's so easy to lose yourself for a second.
I like to maintain a certain sense of fantasy in my life. I am kind of like that at home. Do I have the full hair and makeup? No. But I might have the nice dress on.
I love a good lyricist - always have. The thing that inspired me most was the different performers, like Tina Turner, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Madonna, even Janet Jackson.
I love a long bath. I love anything creative. I love decorating. I even love just flipping through magazines and vegging out for a while. But I'm also one of those people who loves to work, so I'll sing, dance, work on my next performance, or write whomever it may be about a new idea.
I remember when I was 33 or 34, it was devastating because I realized I wasn't a kid anymore. The great thing about 40 was that I really felt like I had life experience and knew what I was doing now.
I've always been very girly.
I don't regret what I've been through. I've had ups and downs, super highs and some really low lows. I've been so blessed that I could never say, 'I wish this didn't happen.' It's part of who I am. There's nothing in my life that's so ugh.
I look to women who epitomize old Hollywood glamour, like Rita Hayworth.
Women should never go without earrings. Passing on them is an opportunity missed.
I am positive - determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person.
I know that being seen as a role model means taking responsibility for all my actions. I am human, and of course, sometimes I make mistakes. But I promise that when I fall, I get back up.
I've learned something about kids - they don't do what you say; they do what you do.
I think if you're in a committed relationship, unless you have some sort of an understanding, monogamy is something that should exist.
When you have children, you realise you can't plan anything. There's no Plan A, no Plan B. Life will happen and you will go with it.
I came from the Bronx and a certain background. I worked really hard. I kept my focus on the right things.
I do know a lot about Scientology. And I know about the practices. I know all about what the technology is and all that kind of stuff. It's very helpful.
By nature I am not tough, believe it or not.
Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.
I'm a hopeless romantic and passionate person when it comes to love.
Some people are naturally thin, and some are heavier. There is a lot of focus on it, and it can be a lot of pressure for people. But honestly, I think as long as someone is healthy, that is most important.
You've gotta do things that make you happy. As women, we tend to give away a lot. We take care of a lot of people, and we can't forget to take care of ourselves.
I believe in love.
When I first started on television, people, and even my own manager at the time, would tell me I had to make all of these changes. But you have to stand up and say, 'There's nothing wrong with me or my shape or who I am; you're the one with the problem!' And when you can really believe that, all of a sudden other people start believing, too.
I always joke about letting the haters motivate you. Everybody has that in their life, people who doubt them or make them feel less than they are. It just takes faith and belief in yourself, and you've got to dig deep into that. That has to come from you - nobody's going to give you that.
Oh my God, my girlfriends are everything to me. They celebrate with you, they cry with you, they hold you when you need to be held. They laugh with you. They're mean with you! They're always there, and it's just a priceless thing to have.
I would never speak about specifics in my own relationships because I think it's tacky.
I have my own high standards for what I want in a partner and how I want to be treated. I bring a lot to the table. I'm not talking about material things but what I have to offer as a person - love and loyalty and all the things that make a good relationship.
When I am wrong, I will learn the lesson and move on to face other challenges. For me, that's what creating your own life is. Doing your best work while being your best self.
I was into sports and dancing. I ran track. I have a lot of stamina.
I love to eat everything and you pretty much can - a little piece of something fattening is not going to kill you. It's when you eat the whole box that it's going to kill you.
It's a real roller-coaster ride if you're lucky to have longevity in this business - you have to be able to ride those waves.
I just think that the whole diva thing is a misrepresentation of who I am.
If you don't love yourself, you can't love anybody else. And I think as women we really forget that.
You mirror what the world mirrors to you.
I like to cook Puerto Rican food. That's what I grew up on: rice, beans, meat, some Italian-American food. I know my way around the kitchen.
The bottom line is that musicians love to make music and always will.
But the idea of taking things and mixing them together is what I do in my music. I take hip-hop, R&B, pop, dance, funk and soul and mix it all together to get my own sound.
There's no way in the world that just because women turn the number 40, they're anything less than amazing. That's crazy. If anything, you're even more amazing!
