Jennifer Lopez Opens Up About Still Feeling Like An ‘Underdog’ In Hollywood — ‘It Hurts’ To ‘Not Be Included’
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, superstar Jennifer Lopez opens up about her journey in the entertainment industry and how her upbringing in the Bronx prepared her for Hollywood. The singer and actress even looks back on how hard she had to fight for approval from her peers, even despite her amazing success.
While speaking to the outlet, the 52-year-old credited her mother Guadalupe Rodríguez for preparing her to be tough and brave enough to take on the entertainment industry: “Listen, my mom was also a fun mom. My mom was also the mom who got me into musicals and introduced me to all kinds of music. I am an entertainer because of my mom,” Lopez explained. “But I’m also able to survive the things I’ve survived in this business because my mom was tough. I don’t think she could realize what she was preparing me for, but she did.”
Lopez went on to admit that she still felt like she was always “scrapping from the bottom. Always. I always felt like I wasn’t the one that was supposed to be in the room,” the “I’m Real” songstress said. “That’s part of being Puerto Rican and from the Bronx and a woman.” She continued, “You know what I mean? All of that stuff. Not being born into a family with money. Not knowing anybody in the business. I just went out there and said, ‘F— it. I’m going to just try. I’m going to try to get in here.’” She added, “It’s just 20, 25 years of people going, ‘Well, she’s not that great. She’s pretty and she makes cute music, but it’s not really this and that.’ You know, I think I’ve done some nice work over the years, some really nice work,” she revealed. “But there is a club that I just wasn’t a part of. And I always acted like, ‘Yeah, I’m good. I’m fine. I’m OK.’”
The award-winning star admitted, “But it hurts to not be included. I don’t know if I will ever be. There is an inner circle, like, ‘We are the great artists.’ And then there’s the pop artists.”
Although that’s something that stays on her mind, JLo says she is still grateful for the opportunities she received.
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