The global celebrity who has struggled a lot to reach the zenith of success wants to teach her kids the value of hard work.
When we talk about a few of the most influential icons of our times, Jennifer Lopez's name comes up amongst the top of the list. Reports suggest that her net worth is around $250 million. Not only has she done extremely well for herself but she is also a popular philanthropist who is trying to leave a mark in the world with her kindness.
The 43-year-old pop star who normally graces the headlines due to her wildly loved music or her adorable relationship with baseball player Alex Rodriguez rarely opens up about her childhood or growing up years except a rare few times when she opened up about her difficult past.
In an interview with W Magazine, the Grammy Award winner had revealed that such was her passion for her art that she decided to move out of her parents' house because they were not supportive of her ambition. Her mother, Guadalupe Rodriguez, disapproved of her aspiration to become a part of the show business, therefore, she was left with no choice but to pursue her dreams alone.
"My mom and I butted heads," she tells the magazine. "I didn’t want to go to college -- I wanted to try dance full-time. So she and I had a break." She then moved out of her house and was completely on her own from 18-26. "I started sleeping on the sofa in the dance studio. I was homeless, but I told her, ‘This is what I have to do.’"
But true talent never goes unnoticed for long. "A few months later, I landed a job dancing in Europe. When I got back, I booked In Living Color. I became a Fly Girl and moved to L.A. It all happened in a year.”
She went on to say that despite L.A. becoming her home she did miss her hometown, Bronx. She believes her neighborhood prepared her for the hardships that she was destined to face. "Now I love Los Angeles, but it doesn’t give me strength the way the Bronx did. All the strength that I needed for life, I got from that neighborhood," she explains.
Although she has had her share of differences with her parents, she did not let them turn their relationship bitter. She, in fact, says that they have inspired her with the hard work they did to provide for their children. Lopez, who is a mother-of-two herself wants to inculcate the same values in her children.
"I think a lot about teaching my kids to work hard. I’ve learned something about kids -- they don’t do what you say; they do what you do," she says. "I watched my parents. My dad worked nights, and I was aware of how much he was doing for us." She continued, "My mom was a Tupperware lady and also worked at the school. I always felt that I couldn’t let them down. And I had a natural discipline from early on. I was always training for something."
Today, Jennifer Lopez is a global superstar in her own rights. Jennifer has been in over 30 films, four TV series and recorded eight studio albums. With records sales of 75 million and a cumulative film gross of over $2 billion, she is regarded as the most influential Hispanic performer in the United States, reports the Mail.
And to think it all started with her sheer determination to make it big!
References:
https://www.wmagazine.com/story/jennifer-lopez-august-2013-cover
