Jennifer Lopez spent the weekend in Miami warming up for her 48th birthday on Monday.
JLo was seen out and about with her boyfriend, former Yankees star player Alex Rodriguez (who turns 42 on Thursday).
There are so many reasons to love Lopez – she's a talented singer, dancer and actor; a loving mother of twins Max and Emme; a smart business woman; and a headline-making fashionista.
In celebration of Lopez’s special day, here are 10 other reasons to love her:
1. She’s still Jenny from the Block
Lopez used to have a little, now she has a lot. She was born in the Bronx to working class parents David and Guadalupe. With talent, luck and a whole lot of hard work, Lopez became one of the most famous people in the world and one of the most powerful women.
2. She danced for New Kids on the Block
Lopez was a back-up dancer for NKOTB’s 1991 performance on the American Music Awards.
3. She has ties to Canada
Lopez got her big break as a Fly Girl on In Living Color, a show that featured Canada’s Jim Carrey. She filmed her 2001 movie Angel Eyes in Toronto and 2004’s Shall We Dance in Winnipeg. In 2002, her then-fiancé Ben Affleck frolicked with a group of Vancouver strippers while he was in the city making Paycheck.
4. She loves love
Lopez clearly believes in love (and that love don’t cost a thing), even if it’s not forever. She’s been married three times — to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd, and Marc Anthony — and was engaged to Affleck (see No. 2). She clearly doesn’t have a “type.” Lopez had high-profile relationships with rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and dancer Casper Smart, and is currently dating baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
5. She starred in Anaconda and Gigli
Lopez endured a giant man-eating snake — and Jon Voight’s hammy acting — in the 1997 camp classic Anaconda. Then she survived 2003’s Gigli, which remains arguably one of the worst movies ever made.
6. She works behind the scenes
Lopez is an executive producer of some of her own shows (Shades of Blue, World of Dance) but is also involved with shows in which she doesn’t appear. She executive produces the good family drama The Fosters and was an executive producer of the bad faux-reality series South Beach Tow.
7. She supported Hillary Clinton
At a 2016 concert in support of Hillary Clinton, Lopez told the crowd: “We’re about to have our first women president.” OK, so JLo can’t influence an election as effectively as, say, Russia. We love her for believing.
8. She can text Leonardo DiCaprio
Lopez showed off the star-studded contacts list on her phone during her Carpool Karaoke segment with James Corden. Among her celebrity friends is Leonardo DiCaprio, who actually replied to a text message he thought came from her.
9. She danced for Janet Jackson
Lopez appears in the video for Jackson’s 1993 hit “That’s The Way Love Goes.”
10. She makes us dance
Fun fact: It’s impossible to listen to Lopez’s 2000 hit “Let’s Get Loud” (a song co-written by Gloria Estefan) without dancing. “Life's a party, make it hot / Dance, don't ever stop,” she commands us.
