A decade has passed since Jennifer Lopez last graced the cover of VIBE, and ten years have done the singer/actress/businesswoman quite well. Though not without her fair share of trials and tribulations, Lopez has managed to grow her brand and acclaim from pop star to bonafide quadruple threat.
“Solid As a Rock,” our July 2003 cover story, captured Lopez at what had been the top of her game to date: four platinum, chart-topping albums (On The 6, J.Lo, J To-the-L-O!: The Remixes and This is Me…Then), films grossing over $1 Billion worldwide (Selena, Maid in Manhattan, The Wedding Planner) and a handful of wildly profitable business ventures. Though the profile depicted her engaged and madly in love with actor Ben Affleck, she also managed to open up about her controversial relationship with P. Diddy as well her short-lived marriage to Cris Judd.
“[…] I was in this relationship with Puff where I was totally crying, crazy and going nuts, and it really took my life in a whole tailspin,” Lopez said. “Here comes Cris, and he’s like an angel. So my friends are like ‘Yes!’ Maybe it’s a little fast but they were thrilled to see me smiling.”
Just one year later, Lopez would marry singer Marc Anthony, with whom she welcomed twins Emme and Max in 2008. The couple divorced in 2011 after seven years. She discussed marriage in her 2003 VIBE cover story, revealing sentiments that eerily seem to hold true in her life today.
“I have such a respect for the institution of marriage that I don’t believe people should spend their live together if they’re not going to be totally happy,” said Lopez. “Do we spend time now trying to make it work and wasting precious moments of our lives, or do we remedy the situation and move on?”
And while some thing remained the same for Lopez, her career has skyrocketed. “Solid As a Rock” notes J. Lo’s net worth at a cool $105 million — a total the singer has since doubled and then some. Now raking in $250 million, the singer’s success is the result of four additional studio albums and several other big-bank partnerships. Not bad for “Jenny From The Block,” a nickname and single she attributed to keeping her head out of the clouds ten years ago.
“What people don’t realize is I’m gonna stay who I am no matter what neighborhood I live in,” she said. “I’m still David and Lupe’s daughter, still grew up in Castle Hill in the Bronx. People may be like, ‘Why she always gotta say it, always reminding us.’ But you know what? Saying it aloud grounds me.”
And did we mention that she still looks good?
Photo Credit: Getty