From career to heartbreak to the best beauty tips, J.Lo has shared many words of wisdom over the years.
Jennifer Lopez has conquered the world and is a force to be reckoned with!
Since getting her start as a Fly Girl on In Living Color, the multi-hyphenate has created an empire for herself and is showing no signs of slowing down. With a successful singing and acting career, J.Lo is also a major boss lady, beauty babe and fashion icon -- and is always up for sharing her success secrets and paying it forward.
As we celebrate Lopez's 50th birthday and all her accomplishments, ET is rounding up the best beauty, career and love life advice she's shared over the past years.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
On Aging: Every year it feels as if J.Lo is aging backwards, but like she says, "it's really how you feel inside."
"I just don't think of it. I just think I have a big birthday. Yes, I'm 50, but I also feel very youthful. I think of myself kind of like, okay, I see mantras in myself. I'm youthful and timeless at every age," she told ET last week. "And that's my thing. I don't think we have to be defined by all the labels that people want to put on us, especially age. It's really how you feel inside."
"When you're young, you're just so, like, you think you know everything," she added. "When my first album came out ... I just thought that I had it all figured out."
"You don't realize until your 30s that you know nothing, and then in 40s you start kinda figuring it out. And then when you're 50 you're just like, ah I'm just me and it's good and it's great!"
On Looking Your Best Before an Event: Lopez has shared her best beauty tips with close industry friends like Roselyn Sanchez.
"If you want your face to look chiseled, no sodium two days before [an event]. I learned that from our friend, J.Lo," Sanchez said in an interview with HOLA! USA. "She said, 'I approach everything like a sport, so when I have a concert, I train for that -- and then I can do whatever I want until my next one."
On the Best Sleeping Position for Your Skin: Khloe Kardashian has learned from Lopez to sleep surrounded by pillows in order to avoid pesky neck lines.
"I was always like, 'What the hell are these lines on the side of my neck? I'm too young for this. What is this?' And I was like, 'Are they [from] aging?'" she told ET last year. "Aging [lines are] up and down. When there's lines on the side of your neck, it's from side sleeping."
Beauty Advice She Would Give Her Teenage Self: "Love yourself."
"Stop spending so much time worrying about what others think. Because when you love yourself and you're happy, it is reflected in your whole body – and that's what makes you truly beautiful. And use a good moisturizer."
Workout Tip: Stay hydrated and make time to rest after exercising.
"Drinking plenty of water, especially before a workout, can help you push harder and get more out of your exercise routine," she told Hello!."I try to keep my body hydrated and well rested after every workout. That way, I'm ready to hit it hard again the next day."
Always Stay on the Move: Even when she's not in the mood, she makes herself work out.
"I definitely have days when I'm traveling all over and just wake up feeling worn out. But even when I'm not feeling so great I make myself get a workout in, because I know that after a good workout I'll feel revved up and great about myself."
Clean Eating: While dining out, the singer likes to go for a low-calorie meal.
"I'm a very social person and love spending time with my friends and family, so when we go out to eat I try to make healthy choices," she told the publication. "Most restaurants offer healthy, low-calorie meals so I watch for things on the menu that fit my lifestyle. I'll have a salad or some fish with veggies. And I make sure I drink lots of water throughout the meal."
Beating Cravings: More protein, always!
"Protein is my go-to whenever I start having cravings. It fills me up and keeps me full longer. It's a great muscle fuel."
CAREER
Dream Big: ET was actually with J.Lo all the way back in June 1999, where she talked about her hopes for the future.
"It's just a balance," she said at the time, of singing and acting. "I take both careers very seriously. Hopefully, the music will do well, and I'll be able to continue doing that, as well as the movies. I'm just going to keep working hard and trying to make good music and make good movies. That's all I can do. That's all I want to do."
Be Fearless: Go for it, even when you might fail.
"I think I was pretty fearless. I think when you're younger, you are. Like, ignorance is bliss," Lopez told ET in February. "You have no idea [to think] like, 'I can fall on my face and it's gonna scar me for 10 years.' You know none of these things."
Keep Going and Never Give Up: The "Dinero" singer is always staying on top of her goals.
"There was a certain hustle I grew up with, a hustle that I learned from watching my parents," Lopez wrote in her 2014 memoir, True Love. "They showed me that you put your head down and work – you work for a living and then, when you’re making a living, you still don’t stop… We don’t stop working because we have money in the bank – we do what we do and we keep on doing it."
"Being an artist doesn’t start because you’re 21, and it doesn’t end because you’re 51. You are who you are until the day you die," she expressed in another interview.
Best Practical Advice: Vanessa Hudgens shared that her Second Act co-star gave her a new perspective on her work.
"She told me, ‘If you aren’t happy in a certain aspect of your career, look at who is doing what you want to be doing, and mimic it,’” Hudgens told Haute Living. “[Jennifer] was great at being like, ‘In order to do that, you’ve got to do this,’ and she spells it out in the most simplistic way possible. And I’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, of course, I’ll do that, and I’m going to conquer the world just like you!'"
Know When to Say No: The Hustlers star knows that she can't do it all.
"It’s just about finding time," Lopez previously told The Hollywood Reporter about passing on projects. "I would have loved to have done Shades of Blue for a few more years, but I just can’t. I have two beautiful kids, this amazing boyfriend with his own two kids, and we’re just trying to find time… It’s amazing and I’m grateful, but sometimes things [have to] go."
Best Pick-Me-Up: When she's feeling less than her best, she dances the stress away.
"When my confidence is lagging, I dance," she told Hello!. "There's something about seeing what my body is capable of and feeling the endorphin rush that comes with a good dance session that really helps boost my confidence and my mood. I still consider myself a dancer at heart, and I love it."
Believe In Yourself: You can do and be whatever you want to be.
"There are no limits. You don't have to be put in a box. You can really do anything you want to do and everything you want to do. Not just anything, but everything," she told THR. "You don’t just have to be one thing. There are no limits, and you can be all that you want to be in every single way -- personally, professionally. You can change your mind. You can try new things. Age doesn’t matter. Spirit, heart and soul matter. That’s what I hope that I stand for for people.”
FASHION
Know What Looks Good on You: It doesn't always have to be glam.
"I wear tight dresses sometimes for fun, but that's not when I feel my sexiest. My style is more relaxed," Lopez explained to Redbook. "To go out to dinner, I'll do something easy and chic like lightweight pants, a loose top that falls off the shoulder, and booties."
Have a Signature Style: One thing J.Lo will never stop wearing are her hoop earrings.
"Hoop earrings were the hot thing for girls to wear back when I grew up in the Bronx. I try to keep my look evolving, but big hoops are the one thing from then that I maintain," she told Redbook.
Take a Risk: Don't be afraid to step outside of the box, you never know how it can change your life.
"One dress can change the trajectory of how people dress for the next ten years. It's a crazy impact that fashion can have and that those fashion statements can have in solidifying a personality, a moment, a style, a movement all of those things," she said in her YouTube video about her iconic Versace dress.
An Instant Outfit Upgrade: Never underestimate the power of fierce sunglasses.
"Whether you're going to the gym or a wedding, sunglasses can take the glamour factor of an outfit to the next level. I love oversized Jackie O.'s and rock-and-roll aviators," she shared.
LOVE
Love Yourself: You can't love someone else if you don't love yourself, Lopez says.
"You've got to love yourself first. You've got to be OK on your own before you can be OK with somebody else. You've got to value yourself and know that you're worth everything," she shared in a 2011 Glamour interview.
Love Is a Two-Way Street: Lopez knows that it takes two to tango.
"You get what you give. What you put into things is what you get out of them," Lopez has previously expressed.
Your Partner Builds You Up: Lopez knows the importance of supporting each other.
"The best partner you can have is someone who makes you want to be the best form of yourself," the superstar acknowledged.
Don't Try to Change Anyone: They are who they are.
“Ultimately, we can never change someone else’s behavior—we can only change our own," she wrote in True Love.
Follow Your Heart: You never know where it could lead you.
"Always follow your heart. Sometimes it's gonna hurt -- but you're going to be fine," she told Glamour.
Keep an Open Mind: Whether it works out or not, Lopez will always be a hopeless romantic.
"Sometimes it doesn’t work -- and that’s sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love," J.Lo told Vanity Fair in 2011.
For more on Lopez, see below.
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