Having Conquered Hollywood, Jennifer Lopez Kicks Her Career Up A Notch With Her Sizzling First Album. How Does She Keep It Together?
Workouts, Family, Prayer - And More Workouts
Jennifer Lopez is running hard, her strong legs kicking with a furious grace. That the 29-year-old movie star is on a treadmill in celebrity trainer Radu Teodorescu's Manhattan gym seems purely incidental; Lopez looks more like a marathoner hurtling toward the finish line. "I've never seen a girl like this," marvels Radu, who has also helped perfect Cindy Crawford's heavenly body. "She could do anything. Mother Nature, you know?"
Lopez's natural athleticism and sensuousness are no secret to fans of her film performances and her trademark bombshell ensembles. But this afternoon, as Radu leads her through a demanding succession of aerobic and weight exercises, the Bronx-born beauty is attracting attention more for her sporting chops than for her feminine curves.
Even her world-famous derriere - the subject of so many admiring quips that, at the mention of it, Lopez groans, "Enough already." - looks at taut as it does, well, womanly.
"I was always into sports," says Lopez, whose baby-smooth olive skin and obvious energy testify eloquently to her fitness. "I did gymnastics, competed nationally in track, and was on the school softball team." Clad in a white tank top and navy Adidas sweatpants, her honey-colored hair pulled back, Lopez smiles politely at some of the gym's patrons. But she doesn't solicit stares; like everyone else, she is here to work. She just makes it all look so easy.
Lopez has brought a similar mix of casual accessibility and dynamism to her work outside the gym. In films ranging from Money Train to Selena to the critically acclaimed romantic crime drama Out of Sight (in which she starred opposite George Clooney), she has convincingly played women who are feisty yet vulnerable, glamorous but insecure, both shrewd and naive - real women, like Lopez herself. Now, having shaken up Hollywood, Lopez, the daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, wants to prove she's more than the actress du jour. She got her first big break as a fancy-footed Fly Girl on the Wayans brothers' In Living Color, but Lopez has always aspired to sing as well. This month that dream comes true when Work/Sony releases her debut album, On the 6. "I've always seen myself as doing all three things - acting, singing and dancing," says Lopez, unwinding after her workout. Indeed, the CD shows off her multifaceted talent; it includes three songs she co-wrote, and offers a buoyant mix of Latin, R&B, hip-hop, and pop rhythms and textures. In Lopez's view, performing music, like acting, is a uniquely intense form of personal expression. "You have to have heightened emotions," she says. "If you're really happy, angry, depressed or in love, you can write a good song."
"Jennifer has tremendous attitude - and I say that in a positive way - and it comes across onscreen and in person, and she puts that into her singing," says Tommy Mottola, the chairman and CEO of Sony Music. "She's really committed," adds Emilio Estefan, singer Gloria Estefan's husband and a contributing producer of On the 6. "Her kind of success doesn't come easy." In fact, for all her strength, Lopez says she sometimes feels overwhelmed by the lightning pace of her career, a problem exacerbated by her having "no home base - I've lived in hotels for the past year." To stay grounded, she maintains a tight inner circle of family and friends. "My parents still live in the neighborhood where I grew up, and I go back all the time," she says; her two sisters live nearby in New York City. Lopez also keeps herself strong by incorporating spiritual elements into her life. "I do light meditation to calm myself down when I'm anxious, breathing exercises and stuff like that. And God is a very big part of my life. I went to Catholic school for 12, years, so I pray a lot: 'Lord, move me in the right direction, give me courage.' I can only do so much, but I know I'm being guided."
She may trust her spirit to a higher authority, but when it comes to the flesh, Lopez relies on an iron will and the guidance of top trainers. The fitness team of Nancy Kennedy and Bobby Strom helped her get in shape for Out of Sight with weights, boxing, and water aerobics. Kennedy also prepared high-protein, low-fat meals to maintain, not alter, Lopez's shapely figure. "Jen is a great role model," says Kennedy. "I'm glad she has gotten publicity for being a voluptuous woman rather than a woman people are whispering about, wondering if she's anorexic." At 5 feet 6 inches and 120 pounds, Lopez obviously isn't a candidate for Weight Watchers. Still, she says, "I've seen articles where they had me grouped in with larger women.'... But I don't take it as an insult, because they're identifying me as a real person. If that helps other people's self esteem, good! It helps mine too!" Clearly proud of her body, Lopez scrupulously watches her diet: "I'll have egg whites in the morning, carbs for lunch, and a salad for dinner. I don't like nasty food - stuff that's really greasy." When she does indulge, it's with buttered bread or chocolate-chip cookies. "Cookies with coffee - that makes me feel good," she says wistfully.
To flatter her form, Lopez generally opts for "feminine clothes - things that make me feel sexy." Favorite designers include Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and John Bartlett. As for makeup, she favors a clean, natural look. "I like shiny lips and skin that glows. I use an eyelash curler and mascara, pearly lip gloss, and if I have a spot to cover up, sheer foundation with a lot of moisturizer." Her taste in fragrance, though, is a secret: "I wear an oil, but I never tell anybody what it is!"
If Lopez plays up her earthy sexuality, she doesn't give of herself easily. "People equate sexy with promiscuous," she says. "They think that because I'm shaped this way, I must be scandalous - like running around and bringing men into my hotel room. But it's just the opposite."
Although Lopez is single - she was briefly married to club manager Ojani Noa in 1997 - she still has hopes of being as lucky in love as she has been in her professional life. She wants to marry again and have children, and dreams of buying a house and settling down in Miami. She knows domestic life won't be easy, given her schedule: This year alone, she will perform to promote her album and is planning to make two movies (yet to be decided). But Lopez insists, "I would hate to be 50 years old and think, I should have done that back then," she says. No need to worry about that - this ex-Fly Girl is already shooting for the moon.
