Jennifer Lopez’s life and profession have taken the world on an unforgettable roller-coaster experience. We have witnessed the ups, downs, and sudden twists in between. She could not all the time be a favourite amongst critics, however Lopez has continued to supply movies via her firm Nuyorican Productions, elevating herself to celeb royalty. As she juggles the various crowns she wears, one which deserves the highlight is her function in basically being our first Latina rom-com queen.

Certain, a few of her earlier movies, like 2002’s “Maid in Manhattan,” had been criticized for perpetuating Latina stereotypes (and 2003’s “Gigli,” which she costarred in with Ben Affleck, was chewed up and spit out by movie critics for simply not being humorous). However regardless of the naysayers, Lopez has by no means given up her spot as a rom-com star. The 2005 romantic comedy “Monster-in-Legislation,” which she stars in alongside Jane Fonda, adopted these much less fascinating movies and have become one among her highest-grossing movies thus far.

Lopez is to the 2000s what Meg Ryan is to the Eighties and ’90s. Her comedic timing is all the time on level, and mixing it along with her vulnerability has created a recipe for achievement within the rom-com style. From 2001’s “The Wedding ceremony Planner,” which grossed $94 million worldwide, to 2004’s “Shall We Dance?” which introduced in $170 million on the field workplace, and up to date movies like 2022’s “Marry Me,” which racked up $50 million, Lopez has continued to solidify herself as a rom-com queen. Different Latina actors have dipped their toe within the style and performed nicely: suppose Salma Hayek in 1997’s “Fools Rush In” alongside Matthew Perry, and Eva Mendes in 2005’s “Hitch” alongside Will Smith. Nevertheless, the Puerto Rican actor continues to stretch the bounds of the rom-com characters she portrays. In a single function, she’s scuffling with a troublesome mother-in-law, and within the subsequent, she’s toting weapons and fight boots, as she did in 2022’s “Shotgun Wedding ceremony.”

The 54-year-old multitalented star does not watch for the alternatives to return both — she creates them for herself. She lately dropped $20 million to supply 2024’s “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” an Amazon authentic showcase that coincided along with her first studio album in a decade. Via breathtaking choreography, star-studded cameos, awe-inspiring costumes, and scene modifications, Lopez takes viewers on a journey via her love life, a sizzling matter within the public eye for years. And, in fact, she throws in some comedy along with her therapist, who’s performed by longtime pal and fellow Bronx native Fats Joe. Regardless of the tough criticism and low rankings, the musical movie was essential for Lopez to element her love life in her personal method, not the media’s.

General, Lopez has introduced in roughly $1 billion in gross income for her rom-com movies. She is staking her declare in an area that lacks Latine illustration by a protracted shot. In 2019, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative launched a report that confirmed the low percentages of Latine contribution on digicam and behind the scenes. In partnership with Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Leisure, the report discovered that solely seven p.c of movies from 2019 featured a lead or colead Hispanic/Latino actor.

In different phrases, Lopez — for greater than 20 years — has carved out illustration the place Latinas are practically nonexistent. Whereas the critics could lay on her closely and unapologetically, we can’t deny that with regards to rom-coms, she’s doing it greater and higher than some other Latina actor. She is laughing all the way in which to the financial institution and slowly and steadily bumping up these insultingly low percentages. There isn’t any doubt that Lopez has rewritten historical past and solidified a path in movie that different Latina actors are positive to comply with.

Zayda Rivera is a POPSUGAR contributor. She has been an expert author for greater than 20 years. Z is a Reiki Grasp Trainer, a yoga and Zumba teacher, a mindfulness and meditation information, a tarot reader, and a non secular mentor.