Jennifer Lopez Admitted Her Parents Were ‘Freaking Out’ About Her Iconic Green Versace Dress
In 2000, Jennifer Lopez arrived at the Grammy Awards in a Versace dress that caused such a stir that it prompted the creation of Google Images. The dress has its own Wikipedia page and is still considered Lopez’s most iconic look over two decades later. Lopez said she didn’t think the dress would be that big of a deal. Her parents, on the other hand, were horrified when they learned she planned to wear it.
Jennifer Lopez said her parents were not happy about her Versace dress
At the 2000 Grammy Awards, Lopez arrived in a green Versace dress with a plunging neckline. It left both her midriff and her legs bare and stole the attention of everyone at the awards show. Lopez said she had no idea it would cause such a stir.
“Like I planned that!” she told W Magazine. “Hey — I liked the dress, I wore it, I went out. I’d already seen it on Donatella at the Met Costume Ball, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. Underneath, it’s like a bathing suit-green, with a full panty. There was no danger of the dress falling off, believe me. I couldn’t believe it was such a big deal.”
To her parents, though, it was a big deal. She said her father called her in alarm when he saw what she was wearing. Once he realized how much positive attention it brought her, however, he came to accept it.
“They were freaking out,” she said. “First my father called and said, ‘Oh, Jen, no!’ Now he’s saying, ‘Hey, it’s the biggest thing ever.’”
Jennifer Lopez’s stylist didn’t want her to wear the Versace dress
Lopez’s stylist, Andrea Lieberman, also didn’t predict the impact the dress would have. She told Lopez not to wear it, as others had already been seen in it.
“It was a dress that other people had worn already,” Lopez said, per InStyle. “My stylist was like, ‘Please don’t wear it. Somebody else has worn it.’ I was like, ‘Well, you bought it, and it looks the best, so I’m going to wear it.’ And so I did. And it caused quite a stir.”
Lopez is glad she didn’t listen to her stylist.
“I guess every generation needs its iconic kind of Marilyn dress, and this is that dress for this generation,” she said. “Why it became that? It was just a moment when the wind blew open, and I walked out onto the stage, and it just kinda happened.”
Who wore the dress before her?
While Lopez brought the dress the most attention, she was not the first person to wear it. As Lopez noted, Donatella Versace, who designed the gown, wore it to the Met Gala in 1999.
Just a month before Lopez wore it, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell wore it to the NRJ Music Awards in France. She did not make nearly as much of a splash as Lopez did, though.
