Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1970. Her parents came to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is the middle of three sisters. At the age of 7, young Jennifer went on her first tour - around New York City with her dance class.At the age of 16 Jennifer got a little break with a bit part in the film ''My Little Girl'' (starring Mary Stuart Masterson). But Jennifer's first love was still dance, and when she read about a scholarship to a dance school in Manhattan, she went down and grabbed the opportunity. At this time she was taking a full time course load at Baruch, working in a law office and taking her dance classes.

 Eventually this would lead to a falling out with her mother, who didn't want Jennifer to pursue dance as a career. When her mother gave her the ever popular ''you live by my rules as long as you live under my roof'' speech Jennifer took that as her cue to break out on her own. Not having anywhere else to live, she took up residence in the building where she took her dance classes. A year and a half of auditioning with no success brought Jennifer to the verge of a breakdown. But salvation would come in the form of a tour that sent her dancing across Japan. Before this, she had auditioned to be a ''Fly Girl'' for the show ''In Living Color'' but she had been turned down. Upon returning from Japan, she received a call from ''In Living Color'' asking her to audition  again.