Jennifer Lopez talks about fighting Latino stereotypes in Hollywood

Jennifer Lopez talks about struggling with Latino stereotypes in the early days of his career.

“There are so many different people living their stories (in America),” Lopez, 55, said during the Thursday, Nov. 28, episode. “Diversity Rewards Chain” podcast. “That’s always been my goal as an actor, as a producer, is to break the mold of just playing the Latina, of just playing the maid or just the housekeeper or just the guy who works in the store. Whatever it was, those stereotypes and break the stereotypes. But also being the people who are in the movie.”

Lopez claims that “there weren’t a lot of roles for Latinas” when she started out. “I was auditioning for roles 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?” she continued, per Diversity. “That belief—that belief that I belonged—was what helped me break those molds.”

Lopez, who grew up in the Bronx with Puerto Rican parents, remembers struggling to fit in and feeling out of place in certain situations.

Related: Jennifer Lopez Talks Motherhood and Navigating ‘Challenging Relationships’

Jennifer Lopez has opened up about navigating “challenging relationships” as a mother amid her ongoing divorce from estranged husband Ben Affleck. Lopez, 55, attended a London screening of her new film Unstoppable on Tuesday, November 5, as reported by Hello! Magazine, which is due to hit theaters on December 6th. During a Q&A after the screening, (…)

“When you don’t really come from a lot of people and you grew up in the neighborhoods that we grew up in, you think you don’t belong in certain places or you don’t belong in certain rooms,” she said. “I always find it’s the inner voice. It’s really being in tune with that inner voice and what you’re telling yourself that’s the most important thing. And sometimes it can be your mom and dad’s voice in your head and then at some point it’s your responsibility to replace that voice with your own strong voice. It says, “I can do this. I belong here. I’m good enough. I’m doing the right things. I work hard. I’m talented.’

“And it’s hard because you have a lot of people telling you that you’re not all the time, especially if you choose a career like this where a lot of it is subjective,” she continued.

of Lopez the latest movie, Unstoppabledescribes the journey of the one-legged wrestler Anthony Robleswho won the national championship in 2011. C the autobiographical documentaryLopez plays Robles’ mother, Judy.

“I really identified with her. I really got where she was coming from,” Lopez told the publication. “As far as the struggles she went through, I understood the upbringing they had. I understand, as I said, challenging relationships. You want to make things work, have kids. Trying to be the best mom you can be, being a great mom. She is a great mother. It still finds its way to itself later in life, doesn’t it? Because she was forced to grow up too soon.