Jennifer Lopez Wins Mother's Approval

She’s made nearly 30 movies, earned millions from her music, launched her own fashion label and married a superstar but Jennifer Lopez says she finally won her mom’s approval by working with Robert Redford.

“He was my mother’s favorite actor of all time,” Lopez told reporters in New York before Friday’s release of “An Unfinished Life” in which she stars opposite the Hollywood legend. “This is the man my mother lived for. My career means something now because I’ve worked with Robert Redford.”

Lopez’s acting career has seen highs and lows — she was nominated for a Golden Globe for the 1997 film “Selena” but won Hollywood’s least-coveted award, a “Razzie,” for the worst in the business, for the 2003 film “Gigli.”" After the critically acclaimed “Out of Sight” with George Clooney in 1998 she launched her alternative career as a musician, achieving commercial success that has sometimes overshadowed her parallel work in romantic comedies such as “Maid in Manhattan” and “The Wedding Planner.”

Her real life romantic dramas have often attracted as much attention as her work, from a spectacular public bust-up with actor Ben Affleck to last year’s marriage to Latin music star Marc Anthony.

In her new film, Lopez plays the widowed and estranged daughter-in-law of Redford’s character. She returns to his ranch in Wyoming with her daughter to escape an abusive relationship.

She made the film more than two years ago, right after “Maid in Manhattan.”

“There was a real desire to do something a little bit more character-driven, a little bit more dramatic,” she said.

“I go back and forth. It’s something I’ve always done. Of course the romantic comedies and the commercial successes get more attention but this is something that I enjoy doing.”