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Jennifer Lopez was presented with this year’s Icon Award by Universal Pictures. This also marks the fifth time the 54-year-old has won it. Though Lopez has always been vocal about her regret of not winning prestigious awards like the Oscar or the Golden Globe, she also expressed that she had never imagined that she would become an icon as a younger professional.
At Monday’s Elle Women in Hollywood event, Jennifer Lopez spoke about this, saying:
"I don’t have an Oscar. And I don’t have a Golden Globe. And I don’t have a Grammy or a SAG Award or a BAFTA or a Critics Choice or a Hollywood Film Award...But this is my fifth Icon Award,...Of all the things that I thought I would grow up to be when I was a little girl, the last thing you know I was gonna have on my list was icon."
Other Elle honorees included Lily Gladstone, Greta Lee, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster, and Eva Longoria.
"This award is all about being a representative symbol"- Jennifer Lopez on receiving the Icon Award for the fifth time
There is no doubt that Lopez is one of the biggest icons of her time. So, it is not surprising to see her bag this award again.
Speaking about winning this award, Jennifer Lopez noted:
"This award is all about being a representative symbol, in this case, what it is to be a woman in Hollywood....But when I think about that, and about the things that I spent my life doing and working at, you know, I started off as dancer. And then I started making movies and then records and then creating my own brand somehow and companies that each step of the way."
She continued:
And each transition, there seemed to be tremendous opposition, both literal like physical and emotional, to the idea that you could do many different things and be taken seriously."
Lopez also thanked her grandmother:
"I want to thank my grandmother who gave me the name Fantasia, which I hated when I was a kid because they never had the name at the gas stations. I told her when I get grown, I’m changing my name. Now I want to thank her now. She’s in heaven now. I want to thank her for my name. It’s a great name."
Jennifer Lynn Affleck, better known as Jennifer Lopez, also shortened to J.Lo, is one of the biggest Latin pop culture icons of all time. Credited as the path bearer in the Latin pop movement in American music, Lopez has also been an active part of Hollywood, having worked in several films over decades.
She made her debut with Gigli (2003) and followed it up with multiple comedy and romantic-comedy films. Though her career during this time did not blossom, she returned to prominence with her appearance as a judge on American Idol and her seventh studio album, Love?
Since then, Jennifer Lopez has continued to be one of the most prominent personalities in the world.
