The J Lo obsession

2003-09-16 12:30

Los Angeles - No matter what Jennifer Lopez does, she's followed by a hurricane of hype - and a big "but".

Sure, she's a major movie star with hits like Maid in Manhattan - BUT her most famous movie right now is the colossal flop Gigli.

Yeah, she got a ring from Ben Affleck, the heartthrob star of Pearl Harbor, Daredevil and Armageddon - BUT he may or may not have dumped her just days before last Sunday's scheduled wedding.

And yes, she's frequently ranked as one of the most beautiful people in the world - BUT then there's that extra-plump caboose...

Why do soooooo many people care soooooo much?

"Jennifer Lopez is one of those celebrities that no matter what she does, whether her movies are good or bad, or whether critics like her album, her level of celebrity remains very, very high," said Ken Baker, West Coast executive editor of Us Weekly.

Appeal

The key to the appeal of the star, raised in New York City's Bronx area, is a mix of working-class grit and temperamental diva glamour, he added.

"People, especially women, feel they can identify with her even though she's extremely wealthy," Baker said. "There's an authenticity to her, despite all the bling-bling. They think, 'I'd do the same thing."'

Her Puerto Rican heritage makes her exotic, a cross-cultural commodity, Baker added, setting her apart from Hollywood's array of "cookie cutter" skinny, blond actresses.

So when did the frenzy begin?

After breaking into showbiz as a dancer on the TV sketch comedy show In Living Color, she became a boldface name by appearing in movies like Money Train, Selena and Out of Sight and releasing a hit album, On the 6.

Over the top

Then came the night that put her over the top.

On December 27, 1999, she and then-boyfriend Sean Combs (who had not yet changed his nickname from "Puffy" to "P Diddy") were arrested in connection with a nightclub shooting in New York. Lopez was released without being charged; Combs was later acquitted of weapons and bribery charges.

At that point, Jennifer Lopez became more interesting than her music and movies.

Three months later, she appeared with Combs at the Grammys in a low-low-low-low-cut green Versace dress, causing eyeballs to widen and tongues to wag.

Then she appeared without Combs, breaking up with the hip-hop mogul - and later making a video about it.

Her virtually every move since then has appeared calculated, aimed at capitalising on the world's obsession with her. It's no coincidence that a flurry of gossip column items precedes most of her movies.

Salesperson

Lopez is in the business of selling an image, and associates say she's an excellent salesperson - one who knew her wedding details would ignite a firestorm of public interest.

Affleck helps fuel her flame - but the public also salivated over the details when Lopez married her second husband, no-name dancer Cris Judd, in 2001.

Lopez's celebrity may end up backfiring. Affleck reportedly postponed their wedding when media attention got too crazy, then called the whole thing off a few days later.

During their botched wedding weekend, Lopez was photographed in Miami, in the ocean, in a tiny bikini - but without her enormous engagement ring.

Affleck was sighted in Las Vegas - but without any strippers, unlike during the lovers' last "spat", after the horrendous Gigli opening.

Mystery

On Monday, as often with the tabloid monster known as Bennifer, the next chapter in their soap-opera romance was a mystery.

What does the average person think? Better yet, what does the average Jennifer Lopez think?

Jenny Lopez, 34, a homemaker and mother of two small children from Mount Dora, Florida, said she enjoys the singer-actress's songs on the radio, although she doesn't buy her CDs. She liked her alter ego in Gigli, even though she didn't care for the film overall.

She acknowledges curiosity about Lopez's activities: "I guess it's that idea that she wants you to think about her, that she's this girl from a certain part of town and a certain place and that if she can do this than anyone can do this."

But Jenny from Mount Dora had only a modest interest in the wedding.

"The odds that it will last for a long time are so low," she said last week, before the nuptials went south. "But God bless them if it works."

- AP