You know, maybe I was just born in the wrong time, but I love all things romantic. Puffy understands that. For my last birthday, he covered my hotel room floor with rose petals and had flowers and candles all over the room.
If you don't love yourself, you can't love anybody else. And I think as women we really forget that.
People equate sexy with promiscuous. They think that because I'm shaped this way, I must be scandalous - like running around and bringing men into my hotel room. But it's just the opposite.
I can only speak for myself, and hope people hear my words and see me on television speaking for myself. And, hopefully, they'll be able to make their own judgment. And at the end of the day, I just want my work to speak for itself.
I feel I want to grow as an actress and be better. I want to progress as a singer and songwriter, and produce movies and everything. So there'll be no time when I feel I've done it all.
It was easy to blame other people for treating me in ways I didn't like, but now I was seeing that I was the one at fault. The only way you can be mistreated is by allowing yourself to be mistreated, and that was something I did over and over again. Somehow, I needed to find that glimmer of self-respect, buried deep inside, that would allow me to say: I am never going to let that happen to me again. I needed to learn how to stand up for myself in a different way, but I didn't know how.
My parents wanted me to be a lawyer. But I don't think I would have been very happy. I'd be in front of the jury singing.
I know that being seen as a role model means taking responsibility for all my actions. I am human, and of course, sometimes I make mistakes. But I promise that when I fall, I get back up.
My mom always told me that if you work hard, you can achieve anything. And it's true. It's one of the truest things ever.
I honestly wear myself out walking around, fixing this and fixing that. Maybe that's why I like to work so much - so I can just get to that moment where I'm like, "Whoa." I have to be super tired and knocked out to stop!
I'm living the life I always dreamed of living. From the time I was a youngster I wanted to be a celebrity. It's a great life. The only bad thing is that people are more interested in your personal life than they are in your work and it's freaky
You mirror what the world mirrors to you.
Because the truth is, nobody knows what's best for you better than you do. You have to really sit still and ask yourself: What do I want? Does this feel right? What should I do? I realized I had to go back and do what I had always done. Listening to my gut was just as important as listening to the advice of others, and only I knew what was best for me.
I don't regret what I've been through. I've had ups and downs, super highs and some really low lows. I've been so blessed that I could never say, "I wish this didn't happen." It's part of who I am. There's nothing in my life that's so ugh.
It's not that I didn't love myself before. Sometimes we don't realize that we are compromising ourselves. To understand that a person is not good for you, or that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself - if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me. I love myself enough to walk away from that now.
Confidence: It's the difference between the girl with the perfect body in a one-piece bathing suit, pulling at it and thinking she's not thin enough or doesn't have big enough boobs - and the girl who people call a bit overweight, but meanwhile, she's wearing a bikini and guys are saying, "God, she's sexy." It all has to do with how you feel about yourself - it's about projecting the attitude, I'm OK with who I am.
I'm feeling lucky like a four-leaf clover
You have to remember the value of your individuality - that you have something special and different to offer that nobody else can.
Whenever it feels uncomfortable to tell the truth, that's often the most important time to tell it.
J. Lo is also an homage to my fans. That's what fans call me on the streets, and I like it. So giving the album this title is my way of telling them that this is for them, in appreciation of their support.
Things don't always turn out exactly the way you want them to be and you feel disappointed. You are not always going to be the winner. That's when you have to stop and figure out why things happened the way they did and what you can do to change them.
I do recommend the vegan diet because you wake up and feel great!
In the end, the truth finds a way to surface even if you don't want it to.
I don't really check out other people's butts.
It's important for all types of women to know that you don't have to fit a prototype of what one person thinks is beautiful in order to be beautiful or feel beautiful.... People think, Sexy, big breasts, curvy body, no cellulite. It's not that. Take the girl at the beach with the cellulite legs, wearing her bathing suit the way she likes it, walking with a certain air, comfortable with herself. That woman is sexy. Then you see the perfect girl who's really thin, tugging at her bathing suit, wondering how her hair looks. That's not sexy.
When something bad happens is when you really learn. It causes self-examination, it causes you to take a look at yourself. You naturally start analyzing. It's not that you're wrong; it's that sometimes you just need to make adjustments. Change your way of thinking, change your way of doing, change your way of choosing.
You have to stand up and say, 'There's nothing wrong with me or my shape or who I am; you're the one with the problem!'
I'm very comfortable with being productive. I like doing things, and I like creating things. As far as being powerful, I guess I'm comfortable with it. It's not really how I think of myself.
If you kiss on the first date and it's not right, then there will be no second date. Sometimes it's better to hold out and not kiss for a long time. I am a strong believer in kissing being very intimate, and the minute you kiss, the floodgates open for everything else.
I have no ego. There is no way you can have a big ego and survive in this [show]business. You can't learn if you think no one else has anything to say that's of value.
I like to maintain a certain sense of fantasy. At home, do I have the full hair and makeup? No. But I might have the nice dress on.
I like to cook Puerto Rican food. That's what I grew up on: rice, beans, meat, some Italian-American food. I know my way around the kitchen.
When I am wrong, I will learn the lesson and move on to face other challenges. For me, that's what creating your own life is. Doing your best work while being your best self.
And I love the idea of spending the whole day in bed with my lover.
I remember when I was 33 or 34, it was devastating because I realized I wasn't a kid anymore. The great thing about 40 was that I really felt like I had life experience and knew what I was doing now.
For me, love is the never-ending question. It is confusing. It is the answer, but it is also inundated with contradictions and complications.
I love a long bath. I love anything creative. I love decorating. I even love just flipping through magazines and vegging out for a while. But I'm also one of those people who loves to work, so I'll sing, dance, work on my next performance, or write whomever it may be about a new idea.
We as human beings do this thing where we stuff down our feelings until they find a way to manifest themselves. We try to avoid them until there's no more room and they come bubbling up like a pot of boiling-hot water that overflows. And when it does, it burns.
Always remember, you will live, you will love, you will dance again.
The weirdest thing about me is that I like to walk around naked.
Beauty is only skin deep. I think what's really important is finding a balance of mind, body and spirit.
Mommy. It's just the one thing you don't want to mess up.
I'd be stupid not to take into consideration that there are certain things people will not consider me for because my name is Lopez. And I know I can do any kind of role. I don't want anybody to say, Oh, she can't pull this off. So those are barriers that you have to overcome.
I have the stardom glow.
Some people are naturally thin, and some are heavier. There is a lot of focus on it, and it can be a lot of pressure for people. But honestly, I think as long as someone is healthy, that is most important.
Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.
I'm bad at a ton of things. I'm bad at sitting still. I'm bad at basketball. My worst habit is that while people are talking, I will already be thinking three other things. It's rude. Sometimes if the person is very in tune and they notice, they're like "Where are you right now?"
Everything I wanted before, I want twice as much now. And that doesn't mean material things; it means to explore more, to think more. 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.
I judge people on how they smell, not how they look.
I'm a singer. I'm a dancer. I'm a performer. I'm an actress. That's what I'm supposed to be doing. It makes me a better parent, a better person. I think I can just handle more than the average bear, you know?
When I face myself, I go, "You have a fear of really being on your own. So you know what? That's what we're gonna do right now.
It's a real roller-coaster ride if you're lucky to have longevity in this business - you have to be able to ride those waves.
A romantic comedy has to be funny and make you think about life; but the obstacle that has to be overcome is key.
You have to take care of yourself, your body, your mind, take care of your soul-be your own keeper.
I was always very comfortable with who I was. Confident. I’ve never looked at [my body] in a negative way.
I don't look at people and see color and race. I see inside.
I have to work, for my soul.
You can't take life for granted.
My hair and makeup people and stylists have changed over the years, but they all know sometimes I want to do Marilyn, and on another day I want to do Jackie O. Though sometimes I look back and have to say, "Wow! What were we thinking there?"
I love a good lyricist - always have. The thing that inspired me most was the different performers, like Tina Turner, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Madonna, even Janet Jackson.
Until you value yourself enough and love yourself enough to know that, you can't really have a healthy relationship.
You've got to love yourself first. You've got to be okay on your own before you can be okay with somebody else.
I only do what my gut tells me to. I think it's smart to listen to other people's advice, but at the end of the day, you're the only one who can tell you what's right for you.
I'm very comfortable with being productive. I like doing things, and I like creating things.
The bottom line is that musicians love to make music and always will.
Love to me is someone telling me, 'I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and if you needed me to I'd jump out of a plane for you.'
I was always a singer and a dancer, and I always wanted to be an actress. For me, it's all just one thing.
The media - they want to rush everything. They want to give their seedy opinions without knowing all the facts.
I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.
People used to believe their life--or at least their life as a performer--was over at 28 or some ungodly age! God, when I think of myself back then, I had no idea who I was. I think I'm barely getting that under control now.
Beauty is only skin deep. I think what's really important is finding a balance of mind, body and spirit. Someone said to me not too long ago, "Until you're twenty, you have the face you are born with, and after that you have the face you deserve", and I really loved that - the idea that you wear who you are on your face.
I thought she'd [her mother] offer me some sympathy. Instead, she said, 'Don't you ever call me crying again! You wanted to be in this business, so you better toughen up!' And I did.
Lifes too short to live the same day twice.
When I turned 40, I was like, huh. I accept myself more now. It was much more comforting.
I came from the Bronx and a certain background. I worked really hard. I kept my focus on the right things.
There are certain people that are marked for death. I have my little list of those that treated me unfairly.
I swear to God, I don't remember anything Gwyneth Paltrow was in. Some people get hot by association. I heard more about her and Brad Pitt and I ever heard about her work.
The weirdest thing about me is that I like to walk around naked. I grew up walking around naked in my house. My mom was like that, and my sisters. My father worked nights and slept during the day, so we had no one to hide from.
As you get older and as you experience and go through different things you realize you have to set boundaries. You have to for your life. You have to say this is OK and this is not OK. This is what I do for a living and this is my life. It's the only one I get and so I have to set boundaries.
I think that's what a partnership is - you take the positives from both people and incorporate them.
Sometimes you have to explore the darkness to get to the light and get back to who you are.
I could serve coffee using my rear as a ledge.
I like to maintain a certain sense of fantasy in my life.
And at the end of the day, I just want my work to speak for itself.
You can’t let the fear of what people might say or think stop you from doing what you want to do or else we would never do anything.
You get what you give. What you put into things is what you get out of them.
If you ask me, I'd like to become the first female president. That would be really cool. The first thing I would do is redecorate the White House, it doesn't look very cozy.
Women should never go without earrings. Passing on them is an opportunity missed.
I've played more villains than anything else. And I love playing villains, because I can just be evil and do whatever I want.
Once you have a lot of success, you become a target in many ways.
In the past, love for me has always meant forever, and sure, you still nurse some of those fantasies, but I don't try to force it anymore. I hung on to my fairy-tale ideals for a long time. But where I am now, what I've been through, there are no rules. There are lots of ways it can turn out.
My philosophy on life is that we're here to love and to learn. And I've learned a lot, so I can't say "I wish this didn't happen or I didn't make that movie." And I take responsibility for being open [about relationships] in the past. I have to, and now I'm doing what I can to make it different.
With hard work, living a good life, you can do anything. You will be rewarded for that.
I always joke about letting the haters motivate you. Everybody has that in their life, people who doubt them or make them feel less than they are. It just takes faith and belief in yourself, and you've got to dig deep into that. That has to come from you - nobody's going to give you that.
For me, fashion is an expression of who I am right in that moment - so what you're seeing is what I'm influenced by now.
They're making me out to be a serial marrying person or something. I'm laughing at that.
All the old clichés about women need to be undone. Enough already. We're in the other position now. We are desirable older, we can date younger guys and it's not this big taboo. Men have been doing this for years.
The minute I feel nervousness or anxiety or fear, I go, 'No, no, that's not a thought that I need to have right now. Everything's great, everything's good, you're going to be fine'.
You've gotta do things that make you happy. As women, we tend to give away a lot. We take care of a lot of people, and we can't forget to take care of ourselves.
People assume I'm out there having this great life, but money doesn't erase the pain. When you're young you barrel through life, making choices without thinking of repercussions. A few years down the line, you wake up in a certain place and wonder how the hell you got there.
Just because you dress sexy doesn't mean you're a bad girl; it just means you know how to dress.
This is the man my mother lived for. My career means something now because I've worked with Robert Redford.
I think the best partner you can have is someone who makes you want to be the best form of yourself.
I'm not going to make a judgment on plastic surgery because I don't have to yet. I mean, I'd like to think I'll feel great about myself and age gracefully, but then I think, Well, what if I do want a little bit of something? I'm open to being open.
You have to fight for the things you want.
When I was in my 20s I wasn't sure of myself. Now I can really stretch. I don't have to stay in the box. At this point I can say to myself, So what if I fall, so what? I'm going to get back up.
I'm a hopeless romantic and passionate person when it comes to love.
When it's easy, it's great. But when something bad happens is when you really learn. It causes self-examination, it causes you to take a look at yourself. You naturally start analyzing. It's not that you're wrong; it's that sometimes you just need to make adjustments.
By nature I am not tough, believe it or not.
It's a shame to call somebody a 'diva' simply because they work harder than everybody else.
No matter where I go I know where I came from.
I have my own high standards for what I want in a partner and how I want to be treated. I bring a lot to the table. I'm not talking about material things but what I have to offer as a person - love and loyalty and all the things that make a good relationship.
When you're younger, you don't realize you have limitations and that you are the one who has to take care of yourself. Nobody else is going to do it for you. And so, with all of that time, maturity and realizations, I'm in a much better place to be the best that I've ever been and to continue growing as a person and as an artist.
Coming up, at 89 years old, acclaimed sculptor Gerson Frank was finally able to marry his longtime partner, Bill. Their relationship has covered three decades and seen many changes in gay rights, but Gerson never viewed himself as an activist.
If anyone can figure out how to balance my celebrity and my dual careers in music and film, it's me. I don't feel frightened; I feel challenged.
I love what I do. I have an insatiable appetite for creating things and wanting to get better at what I do and always growing and never stopping. I don't know. It's something I was born with. It's definitely a drive. It's a passion, and it's driven for a love for what I do.
You get to a point in life where it suddenly occurs to you that you don't need all the things you once thought you did--that it's really, well, convoluted. My life feels overblown sometimes, and I don't want it to be. I want it to be streamlined. So I'm living a much more unscripted life now than I have in a long time.
You've gotta do things that make you happy.
You like the way I dress The way I wear my hair Show me off to all your friends Baby, I don't care Just as long as you tell them who I am Tell them I'm the one that made you give a damn
You have got to love yourself first. You have got to be ok on your own before you can be ok with somebody else. You have got to value yourself and know that you are worth everything.
Always follow your heart. Sometimes it's gonna hurt - but you're going to be fine.
Don't push your weaknesses, play with your strengths
The truth is, everything that's happened was supposed to happen. That doesn't mean I don't look back and think, God, I wish I hadn't had to go through some of those things.
Being on camera, you have a responsibility to look good. If you don't, you'll hear about it.
I just knew that was what I wanted to do. I was going to perform as a singer; I was going to perform as a dancer, and I was, you know, going to do movies and be an actress. I was going to do it or die trying. That's what my life was
