Jennifer Lopez: When I started, there weren t a lot of roles for Latinas

Hollywood star and singer Jennifer Lopez said that she didn't feel like the "girl next door" and that there were not many roles for “Latinas” when she started out in her career.

"I heard someone say that positive change is slow — and it is — but as long as we’re moving in the right direction, that’s what matters. When I started, there weren’t a lot of roles for Latinas. I was auditioning for parts with accents and stereotypes.

“I kept thinking, ‘Why can’t I just play a romantic lead? Why can’t I be the girl next door?’ That belief—that conviction that I belonged — was what helped me break those moulds," Speaking on Variety's Award Circuits podcast, she said.

The ‘On The Floor' hitmaker came to prominence when she took on the title role of the tragic pop singer in the 1997 biopic 'Selena' before turning to a career in music herself, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

However, she managed to keep a hand in acting, with appearances in 'Marry Me' and 'Shotgun Wedding' in recent years and ahead of two more upcoming films, said that she only really does it for the "love of the art" above anything else.

She said: "I do it for the love of the art. It’s not about the awards or the accolades. It’s about telling stories that matter — stories that make people feel seen, stories that inspire. That’s what keeps me going."

Lopez’s latest film, “Unstoppable,” tells the real-life story of Anthony Robles, a one-legged wrestler who defied the odds to become a champion. Directed by Billy Goldenberg and co-starring Jharrel Jerome, the film is as much about Robles’ journey as it is about his mother, Judy, who fought tirelessly to support him.

Talking about the film, she told variety.com: “It’s not often that you have a movie like this.”

“I identified with her. I understood the upbringing they had, the struggles, the relationships, and the sacrifices Judy made for her son. She realised, early on, that if she didn’t accept her child, how would he ever accept himself? That moment of love and growth — it’s universal.”