Jennifer Lopez's Real Name: Jennifer Lynn Lopez

Quick answer: Jennifer Lopez's real name is Jennifer Lynn Lopez. She was born on July 24, 1969, in the Bronx, New York City.

Real name and early life

Biography.com lists her full name as Jennifer Lynn Lopez. She was born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents. Lopez is her family surname, and the famous nickname "J.Lo" is just a short form of her name. It also became the title of her second album.

Before acting, she worked as a dancer, most visibly as one of the "Fly Girls" on the Fox sketch show In Living Color (1991–1993).

Quick facts

• Real name: Jennifer Lynn Lopez
• Known as: Jennifer Lopez
• Born: July 24, 1969, in the Bronx, New York City
• Known for: Actor
• Notable work: Selena, Anaconda, Out of Sight, The Cell
• Sources checked: Biography.com

Career highlights

Lopez's breakout film role was the Tejano singer Selena in Selena (1997). Leading roles in Anaconda (1997), Out of Sight (1998), and The Cell (2000) followed. Her debut album On the 6 (1999) produced the No. 1 single "If You Had My Love."

In 2001, with the album J.Lo and the film The Wedding Planner, she became the first woman to have the No. 1 album and No. 1 film in the US at the same time. Romantic comedies including Maid in Manhattan (2002) and Monster-in-Law (2005) made her one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, and Hustlers (2019) brought some of her best reviews.

Her music run continued with J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002), the first remix album to top the Billboard 200, and This Is Me... Then (2002), with No. 1 singles including "I'm Real" and "All I Have." She co-headlined the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020 with Shakira, and she has built a large business empire spanning fragrance, fashion, and beauty.

Name notes

Jennifer Lopez is her real name. "J.Lo" is a nickname and brand, not a separate legal name. Fan sites often copy names from one another, so we checked this page against Biography.com. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than guess. We also leave out middle names, nicknames, and origin stories that we couldn't confirm in a reliable source. A popular claim isn't enough to earn a place on this page if no encyclopedia, official record, or major news outlet backs it up.