An emotional Jennifer Lopez delivered a candid speech about how skeptics contributed to her success as she accepted a career achievement honor at the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday.
Taking the stage at Los Angeles' Barker Hangar to accept the Generation Award for actors whose diverse contributions have made them household names, the 52-year-old actress and singer said, "I want to thank all the people who gave me this life. I want to thank the people who gave me joy, and the ones who broke my heart."
"The ones who were true, and the ones who lied to me," Lopez continued. "I want to thank true love, and I want to thank the way that I lied to myself, because that's how I knew that I had to grow."
Lopez went on to thank "disappointment and failure for teaching me to be strong," as well as her children, 14-year-old twins Max and Emme, "for teaching me to love."
"I want to thank all the people who told me, to my face — or, when I wasn't in the room — that I couldn't do this. I really don't think I could've done it without you. And I know I couldn't have done it without the fans who saw the movies," Lopez continued through tears.
"You are the reason that I am here and that I have been here, and I love you!" she said.
Lopez launched her career as a dancer on the 1990s sketch comedy series "In Living Color," according to CBS News. She went on to pursue an acting career, landing her first leading role in 1997's "Selena." She appeared in other films, including "Anaconda," "Out of Sight," "The Wedding Planner," "Hustlers" and, most recently, "Marry Me."
Lopez's decadeslong career also includes success on the pop and Latin charts. She released her debut album, "On the 6," in 1999 and proceeded to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with multiple songs including "If You Had My Love," "All I Have," and the remixes of "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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