Jennifer Lopez On Movie Role As Selena Quintanilla: 'It Was A Turning Point'

With 30 years in the entertainment industry, Jennifer Lopez is no new face in the game. Her remarkable career includes multiple No. 1 hit songs, countless of movies and TV shows, a fashion clothing line and much more. Lopez, who kicked off her trajectory as a Fly Girl dancer on "In Living Color" in 1991, still remembers the breakthrough role that launched her career.

"My proudest moment as an actor? I guess I've had a few, playing different characters," said Lopez to reporter Felicity Huffman in a recent interview for "Variety Studio: Actors on Actors." "I hope I hadn't had it yet, that it's still to come, where I'm like 'wow, this moment' but I've had some great moments," she said of her diverse roles in movies such as "The Wedding Planner," "Enough" and "Maid in Manhattan."

Lopez, however, opened up about the most important role in her acting career, giving all the credit to the "Selena" movie released in 1997, just two years after Selena Quintanilla's passing.

"I think playing Selena was a great moment in my career, it was a turning point," she stated of the her big leading role at that time. Not only did the role as the Queen of Tejano put JLo in the spotlight, but it also helped the 47-year-old star make history as a Latina actress.

"There was much ado about what I got paid and a Latin actress never being paid that before and I felt that there was a barrier that was broken in that moment and I felt really good about that and I always remember that time in my career," she recalled.

The entire interview, according to Variety, can be watched in the premiere of the two-part fourth-season of “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors.” The show airs June 12 and June 19 on PBS SoCal and will be available to stream on Variety.com.