Some people seem to be famous because they're famous. Looking back on Jennifer Lopez's short but busy career, one sees an arrow to the top where the quality of the project is second to Lopez's involvement.

She has been a dancer, an actress, and now a singer. Born in the Bronx in 1970, she always knew she wanted to be a performer, but it was her association with the Fox Network series In Living Color, as a "Fly Girl" dancer, that first gained her attention.

Her dance moves, overwhelming stage presence, and soon-to-be-famous Latina curves were the stuff of talent agents' dreams. After landing acting parts on such short-lived TV series as Fox's South Central, CBS's Second Chances, and Aaron Spelling's Malibu Road, she shifted to movies, and her career took off when she eventually landed the title role in the feature film Selena, playing Selena Quintanilla Perez, the Tejano singer whose tragic murder made her an immediate icon.

After Lopez became a well-known actress, her young marriage to Ojani Noa came under close scrutiny by the press, and she and her husband were divorced after only a year together.

Still, her career was booming, as the film Anaconda was a huge success for Lopez, who added sex appeal to the snake-driven movie vehicle. She also co-starred with Jack Nicholson in Blood & Wine, with Sean Penn in U-Turn, and with George Clooney in the critically acclaimed Out Of Sight.