Jennifer Lopez Biography

Birth Name

Jennifer Lynn Lopez

Nickname

J. Lo
La Lopez
Lola
Jenny From The Block

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

Jennifer was born on July 24, 1969, in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. Her father, David, was a computer technician. Her mother, Guadalupe, taught kindergarten. Jennifer is the middle of three daughters. Her elder sister, Leslie, is a housewife who sings opera. Her younger sister, Lynda, is a DJ on New York's WKTU, a VH1 VJ, and a morning news show correspondent on New York's Channel 11. Jennifer's parents were born in Puerto Rico, but did not meet until both came to America. Her mother's parents were Europeans who settled in Puerto Rico. She says that it was her parents' work ethic that made a difference in her life. Jennifer took singing and dancing lessons from age 5. She attended 12 years of Catholic school, including an all-girl high school. She played softball and tennis in high school and was a gymnast.

After high school, she briefly worked in a law office. During this time, she continued dance classes at night. At 18, she left home because her mother was scared by her decision to pursue show business. With casting on "In Living Color" (1990) in 1990, she moved to L.A., but initially hated it. Finally her boy friend, David Cruz, moved to be with her there and she learned to accept her new environment. Her career took off from her "Living Color" stint and reached new peaks with her portrayal of slain Latino singer Selena (1997).

Britney Spears recalls top 75 'absurd' stories of 2009

Singer Britney Spears has hit back at the gossip columns, listing the top 75 "most ridiculous" or "patently absurd" stories written about her in 2009.

Published on her website, The Year in BS said there were more than 13,000 stories written about the 28-year-old.

The list includes various reports of new boyfriends, emotional breakdowns and one claiming her family was once so poor they ate squirrels.

At number one was a story about Spears dating choreographer Sandip Soparrkar.

In January, the Daily Mirror reported Spears was dating Soparrkar and that she had hosted a private New Year's Eve party to introduce him to her friends and parents.

'Factually inaccurate'

The Daily Star later reported in October that sales of squirrel meat soared after a new Spears biography included claims the star's family would eat whatever father Jamie could hunt.

"We ranked the ones we believe were the most ridiculous," the post on the website said.

"Either because they were factually inaccurate, because they reported the patently absurd, or because we believe they are simply offensive to the sensibilities."

The list culled mostly from US and British websites, celebrity magazines and tabloid newspapers, also included allegations she was being drugged by her father and supposed demands for stripper poles in her room at London's Dorchester Hotel to help her keep in shape.

The star quashed rumours that she was pregnant with a third child, was addicted to gardening and under orders from her father to read the Bible every day to keep her "on the straight and narrow".

Several of the stories also related to Spears's recent troubled tour of Australia, where it was reported fans had walked out of a concert in Perth because of her lip-synching.

Star Trek was the 'most pirated movie' of 2009

The latest Star Trek film was illegally downloaded more than 10 million times in 2009, according to an internet blog site that monitors file-sharing.

The figures suggest it is 2009's most pirated film, ahead of Transformers sequel Revenge of the Fallen.

Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla was the third most pirated movie, with The Hangover and Twilight completing the top five.

The TorrentFreak blog reports on peer-to-peer activity which uses BitTorrent file-sharing software.

BitTorrent is one of the most popular means of transferring large files over the internet.

Other films featured in the list of most illegally downloaded titles include sci-fi thriller District 9 and the sixth Harry Potter adventure.

But X-Men Origins: Wolverine ranks fairly low in the Top 10, despite an unfinished version of the film appearing online ahead of its release.

Directed by JJ Abrams, Star Trek charted the early days of James T Kirk, Mr Spock and other crew members of the Starship Enterprise.