From The Block: Celebrating Jennifer Lopez’s 56th Birthday With Her Most Gorgeous Photos

When you think about dual threat talents in entertainment, one name that surely has to come to mind is Jennifer Lopez. To celebrate her turning 56, click inside to check out a gallery of some of her most gorgeous photos over the years!

Jennifer Lopez was born in the Bronx. Growing up, there was a lot of music in the Lopez household. Jennifer and her sisters were encouraged to sing, dance and create their own plays for family events. Lopez knew that she wanted to be a performer from an early age, specifically after seeing West Side Story. As a teenager, she learned flamenco, jazz and ballet at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and taught dance to younger students. She attended New York’s Baruch College for one semester before dropping out and enrolling as a full-time student at Manhattan’s Phil Black Dance Studio.

After dancing and singing on tours and music videos for a couple of years, Lopez got her big break in 1991. She began appearing as a fly girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series In Living Color, where she remained until she decided to pursue an acting career two years later. After securing a few small roles on television shows (South Central, Second Chances, Hotel Malibu), she got her first major movie role in Gregory Nava‘s 1995 drama Mi Familia. She continued her rise to fame when she starred in movies alongside Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson (Money Train), Robin Williams (Jack) and Jack Nicholson (Blood and WIne) over the next couple years. She became the first Latina actress to earn $1 million when she starred as the singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez in the biopic Selena. During her illustrious career, her films have grossed a cumulative total of $3.1 billion.

In the midst of her box office success, Lopez started to miss the excitement of the stage. This prompted her to launch her music career in 1999. She signed to Sony Music’s Work Group and released her first album On the 6 the same year. The album was a commercial success, selling 112,000 units during its opening week. The album’s first single ‘If You Had My Love’ ended up reaching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for a month. Since then, she has released eight albums (J.Lo, This Is Me… Then, Rebirth, Como Ama una Mujer, Brave, Love?, A.K.A., This Is Me…Now) that went on to sell more than 80 million records with 15 billion streams worldwide.

Jennifer Lopez is considered one of the most influential Latin entertainers of all time and is credited with breaking ethnic barriers in the entertainment industry. In 2001, she became the only female entertainer to have a number one album (J.Lo) and film (The Wedding Planner) simultaneously in the United States. Whether it’s with dancing, acting or singing, J. Lo has proven that she can more than hold her own with the best of them and look great while doing it. To celebrate her legacy and beauty, we put together a gallery of some of her most gorgeous photos. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JENNY FROM THE BLOCK!