A-list multi-hyphenate celebrity Jennifer Lopez is most known for her successful career as a pop singer, but she's also an accomplished actress, and has starred in a wide variety of movies. Lopez got her start in 1991, appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on sketch comedy show In Living Color. Her breakout role was in 1997's Selena, for which Lopez was paid $1 million, the most for any Latina actress at the time (via Variety). She released her debut studio album "On the 6ix" in 1999 and went on to become one of the world's most famous pop stars, and performed at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020.
In addition to her music career, Lopez has acted steadily since the '90s. Though critics haven't always been kind to her work, Lopez's best movies often strike a chord with audiences. She is mostly known for her crowd-pleasing romantic comedies, but Lopez has also headlined films in the horror and action genres, and has loaned her vocal talents to several animated movies. While she hasn't been recognized by the Academy Awards, Lopez has earned two Golden Globe nominations in her acting career, for Selena and Hustlers. While the quality of her movies may vary, Lopez turns in consistently good performances in everything she does.
35 Gigli (2003)
A romantic-comedy crime story, Gigli follows the titular low-level mobster (Ben Affleck) who works with handler Ricki (Lopez) in a kidnapping plot. Despite the high-profile attention surrounding Affleck and Lopez's romantic relationship at the time, Gigli was a notorious commercial and critical failure. Pundits criticized the film for being a tonal mess and for the lack of chemistry between its leads.
34 Money Train (1995)
Lopez stars as Officer Grace Santiago in 1995's Money Train. Santiago is a decoy transit officer who draws the affections of her co-workers, foster brothers John (Wesley Snipes) and Charlie (Woody Harrelson). While Lopez was praised, Money Train was ultimately dismissed as a disappointing Snipes-Harrelson reunion on the heels of their success in White Men Can't Jump.
33 My Little Girl (1986)
My Little Girl was Lopez's debut film, in which she played Myra. The movie starred Mary Stuart Masterson as the well-off Franny Bettinger, who takes a job at a halfway house, teaching the youths housed there while learning from them as well. While My Little Girl was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the 1987 Sundance Film Festival, it was hardly the breakout role of Lopez's career.
32 What To Expect When You're Expecting (2012)
Based on Heidi Murkoff's pregnancy guide of the same name, What to Expect When You're Expecting features an ensemble of A-list talent, including Lopez as Holly Castillo, a photographer who decides to adopt a baby boy. Overall, What to Expect When You're Expecting received poor reviews, with critics stating that the film's bloated script didn't do the source material justice, but Lopez was also praised for her character's touching storyline.
31 Bordertown (2007)
In Bordertown, Lopez plays report Lauren Adrian, who is galvanized to investigate a series of female homicides in Ciudad Juárez. The murders are based on a true story. While the subject matter is important, and Lopez delivers yet another strong performance, Bordertown was criticized for trying to do too much at once. It never got a theatrical run in the United States and went straight to DVD.
30 My Family (1995)
An early-career Lopez movie, My Family is an immigrant story centering on three generations of a Mexican family who emigrated to Los Angeles. Lopez plays a young Maria, whom Sánchez patriarch Jose (Jacob Vargas and Eduardo Lopez Rojas) falls in love with. While some critics thought My Family was overly sentimental, many praised its poignant narrative.
29 El Cantante (2006)
Lopez stars in El Cantante as Nilda Georgina "Puchi" Román, wife of legendary salsa singer Héctor Lavoe (Marc Anthony). While there's no denying the on-screen chemistry between Lopez and Anthony, the film, considered an unoriginal biopic, wasn't without its controversy. Lavoe's music partner Willie Colón, among other celebrities, criticized the film for focusing too much on Lavoe's struggles with drug addiction and not on his talent (via Los Angeles Times).
28 Angel Eyes (2001)
Romantic drama Angel Eyes sees Lopez's Officer Sharon Pogue falling for a mysterious man named Catch (Jim Caviezel) who rescues her after she is attacked in the line of duty. Angel Eyes was ma inly dismissed as schmaltz, but Lopez's performance was highlighted as one of the best elements of the film.
27 Blood And Wine (1996)
Crime thriller Blood and Wine sees Lopez play Gabriela, the mistress of wine merchant Alex Gates (Jack Nicholson). The film was praised for its entertaining use of film noir elements, and while Gabriela is hardly one of Lopez's deepest characters, she holds her own against Nicholson even this early in her career.
26 Jack (1996)
Jack stars Robin Williams as the titular character, a 10-year-old boy with Werner syndrome, which causes him to age four times faster than normal. Lopez plays Jack's teacher, Miss Marquez. While Jack received abysmal ratings upon release, the movie has been embraced by Williams fans, who celebrate the heart he brought to the role. Jack will be first and foremost remembered for its late star, but Lopez adds heart to the story.
25 Parker (2013)
A Jason Statham action vehicle, Parker stars the actor as the titular protagonist, who is a professional thief. Lopez plays Leslie Rodgers, a financially struggling real estate agent who gets swept up in Parker's underground world. Despite Lopez starring in a number of comedy films, she doesn't often get credit for her comedic sensibilities, but in Preacher, she was praised for providing fish-out-of-water laughs to an otherwise predictable story.
24 Lila & Eve (2015)
Lopez stars opposite Viola Davis as the titular characters in the vigilante two-hander Lila & Eve. Their characters meet in a support group for mothers who have lost their children to violent crime, and together they investigate the murder of Lila's son, which has deadly consequences. While the general consensus is that Lopez and Davis' performances are far superior to Lila & Eve's script, the chemistry between the stars elevates the film.
23 The Back-Up Plan (2010)
In The Back-Up Plan, Lopez plays Zoe, a single woman who wants to be a mother and undergoes artificial insemination, only to meet her perfect match, Stan (Alex O'Loughlin), that same day. While critics didn't love The Back-Up Plan, audiences connected with the film a bit more, likely appreciating the story of a middle-aged woman who goes after what she wants in life, and at the time The Back-Up Plan was CBS' Films highest-grossing film (via The Numbers).
22 Enough (2002)
Domestic thriller Enough centers on Slim (Lopez), a newly married woman who flees her abusive husband Mitch (Billy Campbell) with their daughter Gracie (Tessa Allen). When it's clear Mitch won't stop pursuing his wife and daughter, Slim trains to fight back. Women-in-peril thrillers are often dismissed, and while critics weren't enamored with Enough, it earned a 67% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. This is likely due to Lopez, whose ability to play an everywoman is every bit as strong as her work in more glamorous roles.
21 Jersey Girl (2004)
Lopez's second role opposite Affleck, she stars in Jersey Girl as Gertrude Steiney-Trinké, who dies of an aneurysm in childbirth, leaving her husband Ollie (Affleck) to raise their daughter Gertie (Raquel Castro). Though Jersey Girl received lackluster reviews upon release, it's come to be more appreciated in the years since its release, and the chemistry between Lopez and Affleck is much more palpable than in Gigli.
20 Ice Age Franchise (2012-2016)
Lopez stars in the fourth and fifth movies of the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age: Continental Drift and Ice Age: Collision Course, as Shira, a saber-tooth tiger. Though at this point, critical opinion of the Ice Age franchise had started to wane, it was still a beloved family franchise. Shira doesn't particularly stand out, but Lopez fits in nicely with the cast.
19 U-Turn (1997)
Oliver Stone's U-Turn features Lopez as Grace McKenna, a woman looking to kill her much older husband, Jake (Nick Nolte). U-Turn is considered among the lesser of Stone's movies, but Lopez shows undeniable star power as a determined femme fatale.
18 Shotgun Wedding (2023)
In the Shotgun Wedding cast, Lopez plays bride-to-be Darcy Rivera whose destination wedding in the Philippines is disrupted when a band of pirates takes the party hostage. While the movie wavers uncertainly between rom-com and action film, Lopez shines on both sides of the genre.
17 Home (2015)
In Home, an alien race called the Boov stage a "friendly" Earth invasion that results in 13-year-old Tip's (Rihanna) mother Lucy (Lopez) going missing. Tip teams with the unpopular Boov, Oh (Jim Parsons), to find her mother. While Home wasn't a critical hit, it has a sweet message, and Lopez plays double duty, providing the heartfelt song "Feel the Light" to the film's soundtrack.
16 The Mother (2023)
In Niki Caro's The Mother, Lopez stars as the titular unnamed assassin who must come out of hiding to protect her daughter Zoe (Lucy Paez) from her former lovers, arms dealers Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) and Héctor Alvarez (Gael García Bernal). While some think The Mother is riddled with clichés, others have found it to be campy fun. Either way, Lopez proves herself an underrated action star.
15 The Cell (2000)
The Cell is a sci-fi psychological thriller that stars Lopez as Catherine Deane, a psychologist who enters the mind of a serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) in an attempt to find the victim he kidnapped. The storyline can be confusing, but Lopez carries the movie, praised for its stunning visuals, and The Cell was a box office success, grossing $104 million against a $33 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
14 Antz (1998)
Antz centers on an anxious worker ant named Z (Woody Allen) who must stop General Mandible (Gene Hackman) from wiping out his colony. Lopez plays Z's co-worker Azteca. Though it was overshadowed by Pixar's A Bug's Life, the talent of Antz's voice cast is undeniable, and it's a true example of a family movie that appeals to both kids and adults.
RELATED: 10 Best Quotes In Antz
13 The Boy Next Door (2015)
Erotic thriller The Boy Next Door finds Lopez's Classics teacher Claire Peterson contending with Noah Sandborn (Ryan Guzman), a 19-year-old who begins to stalk her after the two have a one-night stand. The Boy Next Door was lambasted by critics, but while they may not have appreciated the movie's campy thrills, audiences sure did, and Lopez won the MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance.
12 Shall We Dance? (2004)
Lopez stars in Shall We Dance? as Paulina, a woman who strikes up a friendship with Richard Gere's John as they bond over dance lessons. A remake of the 1996 Japanese film of the same name, Shall We Dance? is full of likable leads who show that it's never too late to rekindle a passion.
11 An Unfinished Life (2005)
Lopez plays Jean Gilkyson, a single mother who reconnects with her estranged Wyoming rancher father-in-law Einar (Robert Redford) in An Unfinished Life. Reviews were mixed, but audiences connected with this emotional story of repairing old family wounds.
10 Monster-In-Law (2005)
Lopez goes head-to-head with Jane Fonda in Monster-in-Law. Aspiring fashion designer Charlie Cantilini (Lopez) falls for Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan), a doctor, only to have to contend with his disapproving mother Viola (Fonda). Monster-in-Law was skewered by critics upon its release, but Lopez proved the perfect foil for Fonda, who made her triumphant return to the big screen after almost 15 years away.
9 The Wedding Planner (2001)
Sparks fly between perpetually single wedding planner Mary Fiore (Lopez) and Steve Edison (McConaughey), the groom-to-be she's working for in this charming rom-com. The Wedding Planner sees Lopez at the height of their 2000s celebrity, as the movie reached #1 at the box office the same week her sophomore album J. Lo reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. She's perfectly matched with McConaughey in his breakout rom-com role, and their star power lights up the screen.
RELATED: 10 Best Rom-Coms Like The Wedding Planner
8 Second Act (2018)
In Second Act, Lopez plays Maya Vargas, an assistant manager at a big box store who gets unfairly passed over for a promotion and decides to pad her resume in search of a better career. While some of the plot twists take wild swings that some critics don't think paid off, Second Act has a lot to say about privilege and making big career moves later in life, and there's nobody better to deliver that message than Lopez.
7 Anaconda (1997)
Anaconda is a campy adventure horror movie starring Lopez as Terri Flores, the director of a documentary film crew that gets kidnapped by a snake hunter in the Amazon rainforest. The movie failed to impress critics upon release but has since gone on to be revered as a cult classic.
6 Halftime (2022)
Halftime is a Netflix documentary about Lopez. The title has double meaning, as a huge focus of the doc is on Lopez's Super Bowl LIV performance, but also gives a fascinating look behind the scenes as the superstar launches herself into the second half of her explosively successful career.
RELATED: 10 Things We Learned From Jennifer Lopez: Halftime
5 Marry Me (2022)
Lopez leads the Marry Me cast as a somewhat fictionalized version of herself, pop superstar Kat Valdez. Kat famously marries average Joe, Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson), at onstage at one of her concerts. Lopez and Wilson have such affable yet sizzling chemistry in this opposites-attract movie that not even ardent rom-com detractors can deny.
4 Out Of Sight (1998)
A slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name, Out of Sight is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Lopez as U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco who strikes up a flirtatious relationship with bank robber Jack Foley (George Clooney) after he kidnaps her in a jailbreak. Out of Sight is a crime movie masterpiece and Lopez's best-reviewed movie to date. Based on the breezy chemistry she shares with Clooney, it's easy to see why.
3 Maid In Manhattan (2002)
Maid in Manhattan stars Lopez as Marisa Ventura, a hotel maid who falls for senatorial candidate Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes). A modern-day Cinderella story in which Chris mistakes Marisa for a wealthy hotel guest, Maid in Manhattan is the epitome of an escapist fantasy, and a peak Lopez rom-com.
2 Selena (1997)
Lopez stars as the ill-fated Tejan music sensation, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Critics sang Lopez's praises in Selena, rightfully declaring it a breakout role. While the movie didn't get Lopez the Oscar nomination she deserved, it was the first big step in her powerhouse of a career.
RELATED: How Netflix's Selena Show Compares To Jennifer Lopez's Movie
1 Hustlers (2019)
Hustlers is based on a true story, and is the defining role in Lopez's career. She stars as Ramona Vega, a top-earning strip club dancer who orchestrates a scheme to steal money from unsuspecting men. A female empowerment story about women who exploit a system that exploits them, Jennifer Lopez imbues Ramona with humanity and warmth, and she wholeheartedly deserved not only the Oscar nomination but the win.
