As Jennifer Lopez reflects on 25 years of Selena, she took a moment to thank her fans for another accolade as well.
JLo posted an image to her Instagram story that read across the top, “Female artists with the highest movie gross as Lead actress,” and ranked actresses one through ten.
Many great names were on the list, including Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and Dolly Parton, but only one woman could be number one.
That woman was JLo herself, listed as being in 22 films as lead actress and grossing “$1,398,7 billion.”
Jennifer Lopez thanks her fans for her top spot as highest-grossing female artist in movies
JLo decorated her Instagram story with moving text that reads, “i’m dead,” and added some sparkles throughout the image. At the bottom, her post reads “Thank you” in large text with her own personal message.
She wrote, “Thanks for all the love and support #Jlovers!!!” and added the hashtags #Honors, #Humbled, and #CantBelieveIt.
The announcement that JLo is the highest-grossing female artist comes as she celebrates 25 years since Selena, her first leading role.
Jennifer Lopez reflects on Selena movie 25 years later
Jennifer Lopez was just one actress who auditioned for the role of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in the singer’s biopic, Selena, in 1997. At least 21,000 actresses auditioned, but Selena’s mother, Marcella Ofelia Quintanilla, reportedly decided that JLo would act as her daughter in the film.
Director Gregory Nava told Yahoo Entertainment that Marcella gasped and said, “Oh, she dances just like Selena.” And from there, they decided that “she’s the one.”
Yesterday, JLo shared her own post celebrating the movie. The first part showed JLo’s interview with Oprah Winfrey at the time of filming as well as clips and photos of the film and Selena.
JLo wrote in the caption, “Today we celebrate and honor Selena’s legacy and music. This movie means so much to me … Selena and her family mean so much to me, and I was so lucky to be chosen to play her. I’ll never forget this time in my life, and it’s an honor as an artist to have been part of the magic that is this movie.”
JLo’s role as Selena is considered her real breakout role since it was her first lead role. The last 25 years have been huge for JLo and her career, not only as an actress, dancer, and singer but also as a movie producer. Her most recent film, Marry Me, was released on February 11, 2022.
JLo’s film Shotgun Wedding is set to be released later this year.