One-on-one with J. LO

The Puerto Rican-American artiste, who gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller Money Train, landed her first lead role in the biographical film Selena (1997). She has since starred in various films, including The Wedding Planner (2001) and Maid in Manhattan.

Lopez came to prominence within the music industry following the release of her debut studio album On the 6 (1999), which spawned the number-one hit single If You Had My Love. Her second studio album, J.Lo (2001), was a commercial success, selling eight million copies worldwide. It also allowed her to become the first person to have a number-one album on the Billboard 200 and a number-one film (The Wedding Planner) at the Box Office in the same week.

Here, in a deep interview conducted by recognised journalist Mike Pattenden, J-Lo talks about subjects like growing up in the Bronx, how fame has affected her life, her ex partners, and love in general being tough, experiencing an emotional breakdown during the filming of Enough, keeping her body in shape, among other topics.

ON HER BACKGROUND AND REPUTATION

I am still Jenny from the block. It's who I am. But the Bronx is not like you imagine from some movies. I had a normal lower- to middle-class upbringing there and went to a nice Catholic school. I used to walk to the store, there weren't gangs hanging around looking for trouble. And my parents stayed there for a long time after I left and only moved out recently. I still go back and see some old friends.

I really am the same person who grew up there. It's what you create in your world. I'm still surrounded by my family, my best friend from when I was seven still works with me and helps me take care of my babies. My work is big hotels and stages and movie sets, but I try and hold on to who I am, and know who that is and not lose that sense of your grounding. There's a lot of things written about me and my entourage. Look, it comes with the territory, but I think American Idol has allowed people to see my real personality. Yes, I dress up and perform, but I'm a real person with real feelings. It's not that I don't like to glam it up, I do. It's part of my job, and I enjoy the whole thing, but the media always have to turn it into a negative.

ON BEING AN ENTERTAINER

I was born to entertain. Even as kids, me and my sisters were very show-orientated. We used to get very bored, especially during the holidays, so we'd go off and make up a show or a dance we put to a record. We'd try on lots of clothes and make-up then go out and perform for the adults. I was obsessed with West Side Story. I loved the singing and the dancing in it, and all of those things became major elements in my career. I knew then you had to be multi-faceted. You had to sing, dance and act. I also really, really identified with the Puerto Rican story, and to begin with, I wanted to be Anita, who was Rita Moreno, who was a ground-breaking Latin American actress. I saw myself as this fiery dancing chick with the cool boyfriend. Later on, I found myself wanting to be Maria.

ON LOVE

We're all trying to work love out. People ask why there's a question mark after the word on my album, but they know, because we all have to work it out. It's very complex and you have to question and challenge yourself and the people around you to be better. Having babies taught me what unconditional love is. The most amazing thing that has happened to me, and it made me question everything else. I think I did question my feelings. I don't beat myself up about the past and the choices I made, I just try to be better. I can't say I see my exes any more, I haven't seen Ben or Sean for a long time, but I wish them all the best, and I know they're doing well.

ON LEADING MEN

Jack Nicholson is larger than life. It's years since we worked together on Blood And Wine, but he made a big impression on me. He taught me how to work the camera. As a young actress, you think it's all about what you're feeling inside, but the camera has to capture that and be aware of everything around that. He taught me that in one very easy scene, I picked it up and I've never forgotten it. It was a scene where I was rummaging through a box looking for something and he was shouting 'Come on, come on, move your hands, move your hair! The camera's over there, get into it!' Make sure the camera gets it. It was a tiny detail, but I then understood about film making. George Clooney is a man's man. A lot of people say Out Of Sight is my best movie, yet it was a movie fairly early in both our careers. He'd done only a couple since ER and it was a great experience. He was great to be around, very easy-going. We had good chemistry together, I think, and Steven Soderbergh really helped guide us. George is a real guy's guy. He liked to hang out with the boys on set.

ON HER BREAKDOWN

I had a bit of a moment. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I was run into the ground and exhausted. It was even before I had kids. I didn't know how to say no and I was working too much because I said yes to everything, and the more they put on my schedule, the more I did, until I couldn't go on anymore. I was on the set of the movie Enough one day and I was exhausted and I kind of froze up. It wasn't dramatic. I asked the director if I could go for the day and he was fine because we'd finished; it was five in the afternoon. I went to the doctor and he said I was sleep-deprived. He said you need to cut back on coffee and sleep more. He offered me pills but I didn't want them. I don't take anything, even prescription drugs, and I don't drink and I don't smoke. So I had to get through it on my own. I went home for the weekend, but he wouldn't let me have time off because he said work would become an issue if I left it a long time. So I stayed in bed all weekend, drank soup, slept, and came back on the Monday.

ON HER BODY AND WORKING OUT

I don't spend hours fixating on the booty. The press called it the Billion Dollar Booty in the UK, but the story is an urban myth. It's not insured. And no, I don't devote special exercises to it or anything. I try to work out as regularly as possible - at least three times a week with a trainer who comes over. We get together and jump around for an hour and a half. I actually did a triathlon not long after the birth of the twins. I'd do another, but the open water bit is terrifying. When I saw it, I wanted to cop out, but I couldn't. I was worried I wouldn't make it across. Matt McConaughey was in the same race with me. I looked at him and said, 'I've never done this before' and he said, 'Neither have I'. I said, 'It's scary', and he said, 'I'm scared, too'. I was, 'Come on, you're a surfer guy!' but it was really overcast that day and the waves looked a bit big and rough. I just had to get on with it.

ON HER AGE

I am 41 and I'm comfortable with that. I feel like I'm sixteen and I act like it most of the time. I try to be myself and work hard, but not as hard as I did in my twenties. I still enjoy what I do, in fact, even more if anything. The thing about 40 is I feel like I had life experience and know what I'm doing now, and I feel like the best days are ahead of me.