Jennifer Lopez Reveals She Considered Being a Stripper Early in Career: ‘Sounded Awfully Good’

Jennifer Lopez received a lot of recognition in 2019 for her role in the film Hustlers, but now the singer is coming out to admit that she actually considered being a stripper back in the day! When the mega-star, who’s now engaged to finace Alex Rodriguez, was first starting out in her career, she revealed that she considered stripping to bring in a little extra cash as a side hustle.

“I did,” she said to W Magazine during an interview. “There was a moment in my life when my friends, who were also dancers, told me about making thousands of dollars at clubs in New Jersey. They said, ‘You won’t need to be topless.’ It sounded awfully good when I was broke and eating pizza every day, but I never did it.”

Instead of going that route, she continued dancing and eventually landed a spot as a Fly Girl on In Living Color, which then lead to her breakout role in Selena. From that, Lopez never looked back. When she was presented the role of Ramona in Hustlers, she admits that she questioned whether she should do it or not but told herself she couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“I was a little nervous about doing this movie because I had never played someone this dark or complicated,” she said. “I liked that Ramona, the character I play, and the other strippers were looked at as equals to their patrons, the guys on Wall Street. Ramona reminded me of that girlfriend we all have who is exciting but can also get you into trouble.”

She continued with, “You always miss that friend when she’s gone, but when you get together, you worry you might find yourself in some crazy situation. That’s Ramona.”

Not only did Lopez reach into unfamiliar territory with her role, but it also earned her recognition and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations. Plus, she is now one of the top contenders to be nominated for an Academy Award.

While Hustlers was big for Lopez, she also got engaged to Rodriguez and she announced that she would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl in Miami.

“I don’t know if any of you have been to any of my shows, but I love performing and I’m super excited,” she told Us Weekly and a few other outlets at the New York City pop-up for her fragrance. “We had an amazing tour this summer, so I feel really in shape for a show right now. I’m excited!”

“It’s a huge platform, big stage to perform on — one of the biggest shows of the year — and every artist dreams of doing it,” she added. “I’m so excited that they chose two strong women, but also Latinas.”