Jennifer Lopez is reflecting on her career and why she still feels empowered, despite never winning a major entertainment award.
While being honored with the Icon Award on Monday at the Elle Women in Hollywood event, Jennifer opened up about what the title "icon" means to her.
The entertainer generated a lot of buzz during award season for her leading role in the 2019 film Hustlers, but she didn't walk away with anything.
"I don’t have an Oscar, I don’t have a Golden Globe, I don’t have a Grammy, or a SAG award, or a BAFTA or a Critics Choice, or a Hollywood Film Award," Jennifer said in her acceptance speech.
"I do have a Palm Springs International Film Festival Spotlight Award. But this is my fifth 'icon' award."
"Of all the things that I thought I would grow up to be when I was a little girl, the last thing you know that was kind of on my list was ICON."
Jennifer said she always looks up the meaning of the word whenever she's being honored, and it always leaves her flattered. It also makes her think about all the things she's endured while working as a woman in Hollywood.
"You know, I started off as a dancer, and then started making movies, and then records and then creating my own brand somehow, and companies, and each step of the way and each transition, there seemed to be tremendous opposition — both literal, like physical, and emotional — to the idea that you could do many different things and be taken seriously."
"You couldn’t be good or credible at anything if you were sexy, and you couldn’t be sexy if you were a mom, and you couldn’t be intelligent if you were beautiful, and so on and so on. And you certainly couldn’t be any of those things if you were a lil' Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx."
She said she realized that the actual magic of being a woman is being able to do different things and do them well, sometimes without any recognition or appreciation.
"Things like changing our minds, like being emotional, being mercurial, and having our attention in several different places at once is actually our superpower and the essence of who we are. That is what it is to actually be a woman."
"So as I stand here accepting this award in awe that this is my life. I echo the words from that lovely video we just saw: 'Why can't we do all the things?!' I will always believe that we can, that all of you can, that I can."
And if those words don't encourage you to take on the day, I don't know what will! You can read Jennifer's full Icon Award speech on Elle.
