Jennifer Lopez Admitted She Was Better at Acting Than Singing

Jennifer Lopez has been acting, singing, and dancing for years. After starting her career on In Living Color, Lopez has starred in many films and released albums. She has listed many major music icons as her inspirations, but she said she believes she is stronger as an actor than a singer. She shared how she felt about her music career.

Jennifer Lopez said she was better at acting than singing

Over the years, Lopez has given critically lauded performances in several different films. She feels proud of her talent as an actor.

“I think I’m a really great performer,” she told Vanity Fair, adding, “I think I’m a really great actress. I feel confident in those things — that’s a better way to say it.”

She has also worked extensively as a singer, releasing nine albums over the past 25 years. She doesn’t feel as confident in her abilities as a vocalist, though.

“I’m not as gifted a vocalist as some of the girls that are out there, but I know I communicate,” she said. “When I think of great vocalists, I think of Marc [Anthony], of Luther Vandross, of Whitney Houston. But Marc has helped me a lot with this; he always said I had a beautiful voice and that it was better than I thought it was.”

Some critics believe that Lopez’s music career has actually hindered her ability to be taken seriously as an actor. 

Jennifer Lopez was devastated when she didn’t receive more recognition for her acting in ‘Hustlers’

While Lopez has received acclaim for her acting roles, she has never been nominated for an Oscar. She came close, though, after her starring role in Hustlers. She received a significant amount of awards buzz for the part, but it didn’t manifest itself in the form of an Academy Award. Lopez found this devastating. 

“It was hard. I just had very low self-esteem,” she said in the documentary Halftime (per Vanity Fair). “I had to really figure out who I was and believe in that, and not believe in anything else.”

Lopez said the period leading up to the Oscars had been exciting because of the buzz surrounding her performance. It stung to not live up to it.

“I was a little sad because there was a lot of buildup to it,” she explained. “There were so many articles. I got so many good notices — more than ever in my career — and there was a lot of ‘She’s going to get nominated for an Oscar. It’s going to happen; if she doesn’t, you’re crazy.’ I’m reading all the articles going, Oh my God, could this happen? And then it didn’t and I was like, Ouch. It was a little bit of a letdown.”

She began her career as a dancer

While Lopez is now primarily an actor and singer, she began her career as a dancer. She studied dance throughout her childhood, and had a breakout part as a Fly Girl on In Living Color. She continues to show off her dance skills during her musical performances.

In 2017, Lopez was a producer and judge on the show World of Dance.