As an actor, Jennifer Lopez has a cumulative worldwide box office gross of over USD 3 billion from 40 films. She started her acting career with minor roles in television shows and films in 1993.
She had her breakthrough in 1997 with the release of the biopic Selena, in which she played the titular role of the late Tejano singer Selena. Selena earned Lopez her first Golden Globe nod for performance. It was also the film that made Lopez the first Latina actor to earn over USD 1 million for a film.
The same year, she had one of her biggest box office successes with Anaconda. The film earned almost thrice its production budget of USD 45 million, with much of the earnings coming from the global box office. The film catapulted Lopez to global stardom as an actor.
Lopez achieved both critical and commercial success with subsequent films such as Out of Sight (1998), The Cell (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Jersey Girl (2004), Monster-in-Law (2005), The Back-up Plan (2010) and What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012).