20 Years Of Jennifer Lopez Being Really Bloody Great

My love don't cost a thing either, J Lo

jennifer lopez through the years

by Jazmin Kopotsha |
Published on

One of my earliest memories of watching MTV Base (and actually retaining all of this incredibly valuable information about pop stars and their early noughties music videos) was the first time I saw Jennifer Lopez’s video for Love Don’t Cost A Thing. I remember the struggle that my eight-year mind went through trying to rationalise in what strange universe anyone would spend their pocket money on ‘love’.

I was so sure that Jennifer was simply the victim of a big misunderstanding. Much like manners, love doesn’t cost a penny. You can’t go buying it, silly. At least, that’s what I’d been taught by an elaborate amalgamation of kid's TV shows. So, what on earth could this overwhelmingly beautiful grown-up be on about, strutting around in the middle of the road and throwing her very expensive looking sunglasses into the surrounding shrubbery?

But then, of course, I became very distracted by the dance break as performed on a ‘wish you were here’ postcard. The postcard that now jewelry-less Jenny ripped up even though cornrowed hip-hop J-Lo was still mid-routine.

You see, there are very few people who can forge careers that cross pretty much every subsection of show business. There are even fewer people who can do that and still live as presently in our nostalgia-hungry minds while continuing to go from strength to strength in the current world. Jennifer Lopez is one of those people, though.

Are you ready for some unashamed fan-girling? Because Jennifer Lopez went from dancing (fun fact: she was a dancer on the show In Living Colour, aka the one that inspired the video for the Cardi B x Bruno Mars Finesse remix), to singer (*On The 6 *came first), to actress (hold tight Channel 5 for their fleeting dedication to showing *Maid In Manhattan *every now and again) to fashion designer (for reals) and generally adored celebrity.

Here, let's take a look back at the last 20 years of brilliant Jennifer Lopez moments. There are many and they are brilliant.

Gallery

The Debrief Jennifer Lopez

Second Chances, 19931 of 37

Second Chances, 1993

Meet Jennifer Lopez in a TV series about

Money Train, 19952 of 37

Money Train, 1995

Anaconda, 19973 of 37

Anaconda, 1997

U-Turn, 19974 of 37

U-Turn, 1997

Out of Sight, 19985 of 37

Out of Sight, 1998

Waiting For Tonight, 19996 of 37

Waiting For Tonight, 1999

If You Had My Love, 19997 of 37

If You Had My Love, 1999

MTV Music Awards, 19988 of 37

MTV Music Awards, 1998

Love Don't Cost A Thing, 20009 of 37

Love Don't Cost A Thing, 2000

The Cell, 200010 of 37

The Cell, 2000

MTV Music Awards, 200011 of 37

MTV Music Awards, 2000

Ain't It Funny, 200112 of 37

Ain't It Funny, 2001

Play, 200113 of 37

Play, 2001

The Wedding Planner, 200114 of 37

The Wedding Planner, 2001

I'm Real, 200115 of 37

I'm Real, 2001

Enough, 200216 of 37

Enough, 2002

Jenny From The Block, 200217 of 37

Jenny From The Block, 2002

Maid In Manhatten, 200218 of 37

Maid In Manhatten, 2002

I'm Gonna Be Alright, 200219 of 37

I'm Gonna Be Alright, 2002

All I Have, 200220 of 37

All I Have, 2002

I'm Glad, 200321 of 37

I'm Glad, 2003

Gigilli, 200322 of 37

Gigilli, 2003

Shall We Dance, 200423 of 37

Shall We Dance, 2004

Monster In Law, 200524 of 37

Monster In Law, 2005

NRJ Music Awards, 200525 of 37

NRJ Music Awards, 2005

An Unfinished Life, 200526 of 37

An Unfinished Life, 2005

Get Right, 200527 of 37

Get Right, 2005

El Cantante, 200528 of 37

El Cantante, 2005

The Back Up Plan, 200929 of 37

The Back Up Plan, 2009

I'm Into You, 201130 of 37

I'm Into You, 2011

On The Floor, 201131 of 37

On The Floor, 2011

Parker, 201332 of 37

Parker, 2013

Human Rights National Dinner, 201333 of 37

Human Rights National Dinner, 2013

American Idol, 201434 of 37

American Idol, 2014

Booty, 201435 of 37

Booty, 2014

The Boy Next Door, 201536 of 37

The Boy Next Door, 2015

Shades Of Blue, 201637 of 37

Shades Of Blue, 2016

**Follow Jazmin on Instagram **@JazKopotsha

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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