MY LIFE IN 10 Pictures

GROWING UP in NYC's South Bronx, Jennifer Lynn Lopez was always determined to be more than just Jenny From the Block.

"I remember having holes in my shoes, but I didn't feel like I ever needed or wanted anything. My mom was into musicals, and I remember being very young, thinking, 'I want to be in musicals. I wanna sing and dance and act. I wanna do all three. I wanna be, like, in West Side Story." Of course, her own story turned out to be more exciting as she racked up hit albums and movies and became a TV star, fashion mogul and mother all while in the spotlight for her relationships with Sean "Diddy" Combs, Marc Anthony, Alex Rodriguez and Ben Affleck. Yet Jennifer, who turns 55 on July 24, insists her story isn't going to end anytime soon. "[I'll] never let anybody put me in a box because of what age I am [or] anything like that. Those boundaries don't exist for me."

1991 ON THE FLY

"When I first started on television, people would tell me I had to make all of these changes," reflected Jennifer of her big break being a Fly Girl on In Living Color. "But you have to stand up and say, 'There's nothing wrong with me or my shape or who I am; you're the one with the problem!""

1997 HIGH NOTE

"There are certain things that really define who you are as an artist," Jennifer said of her turn as the itular Tejano singer in Selena. "Things that define your life as an artist also define you as a person. There's a part of you that learns and grows in the best characters that you do.... Selena was that for me."

1998 IN SIGHT