I grew up with holes in my shoes, says Jennifer

LOS ANGELES -

Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez can afford the best of labels today, but there was a time when she used to wear shoes with holes in them.

Lopez is one of the most successful actresses and singers of her generation, with a net worth at over $300 million. She is one of Hollywood’s leading ladies who’s also forged a successful pop and dance music career.

But the 47-year-old star does not forget her modest roots of growing up in The Bronx neighbourhood of New York.

She has come out with her new shoe collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti.

“I grew up with holes in my shoes. So this is very special to me, to be able to create such beautiful shoes with an artist like Giuseppe,” dailymail.co.uk quoted Lopez as saying.

“I just love what I do. I feel very fortunate,” said Lopez, who has said in the past that she had to share a bedroom with her two sisters during their growing up days.

“To now be here launching my own shoe collection with an amazing artist and being able to work with amazing artists and do what I love, that’s where I get my stamina. I live with a lot of gratitude,” she added.

The actress said she needs her family to keep her balanced.

Born on July 24, 1969, in the Bronx, New York, Jennifer Lopez danced on the TV show In Living Color before her starring role in the film Selena.

She turned to music and found major success on the pop and dance charts with hits like “Get Right” and “Play” while continuing to garner Hollywood film work. She married salsa icon Marc Anthony in 2006 and had twins; the couple split a few years later. Her recent projects include American Idol and Shades of Blue.

She said: “My family is my stability. They’re so solid for me. When you think of shoes you think of being grounded. There was a connection there for me. They keep me grounded.”

Lopez’s first big break came in 1997, when she was chosen to play the title role in Selena, a biopic of the Tejano pop singer Selena Quintillana Perez, who was killed by the founder of the Selena fan club Yolanda Saldivar in 1995.

Lopez earned widespread praise for her performance, including a Golden Globe nomination, and became the highest-paid actress in history with her paycheck of $1 million. That same year, Lopez starred in the forgettable Anaconda and in Blood and Wine, opposite Jack Nicholson.

Her role as federal marshal Karen Sisco in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight, a film based on the Elmore Leonard novel and co-starring George Clooney, further enhanced her image as a bankable movie star.