She rose to stardom for her role as Selena in the 1997 blockbuster that saw her become the first Latin actress to earn over $1 million for a role. 

And while it appears as though the past 22 years has been a breeze for Jennifer Lopez in Hollywood, she revealed on Monday that that sure wasn’t the case.

The 50-year-old actress gave an nearly all-encompassing interview to Variety where she talked the early days of her career when she was told she could play maid roles and how executives would comment on her ‘really big’ bottom. And the star added that she was told American Idol would be a bad move.

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Tough to swallow: Jennifer Lopez revealed on Monday to Variety that directors used to call her derriere ‘really big’ in the early days of her career, which impacted her self-esteem

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Not music to her ears: ‘They would never say to a guy, ‘Your d*** is really big’,’ she said when explaining there were countless occasions they had something to openly say about her posterior (pictured 2001)

Having men talk so boldly about her bottom bothered her.

‘They would never say to a guy, “Your d*** is really big,”‘ she said when explaining there were countless occasions they had something to openly say about her posterior.

The Hustlers actress added that the early days, particularly around the time in 2002 when she was dating Oscar winning actor, Ben Affleck, was really challenging for her as she felt as though she had lost control of her public persona as she was just being defined by her relationship.

‘It was just a double standard of being a woman. It’s not a mystery,’ she said, adding that it did hurt her self-esteem.

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Not easy: The Hustlers actress added that the early days, particularly around the time in 2002 when she was dating Oscar winning actor, Ben Affleck, was really challenging for her as she felt as though she had lost control of her public persona as she was just being defined by her relationship (pictured 2003)

‘Bennifer’ got engaged in late 2002, things turned south and they called off their engagement just one day before their September 2003 wedding.

By June 2004 the Dance Again singer married Marc Anthony and they welcomed their twins; Max and Emme, 11, in February 2008.

And while her career was continuing the soar up until this point, offers began to stop after she gave birth to her children.

Calling it an ‘unofficial sabbatical’, she said she just spent the next few years working on her marriage and being a mother.

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Babies make four: By June 2004 the Dance Again singer married Marc Anthony and they welcomed their twins; Max and Emme, 11, in February 2008 (pictured 2007)

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Work slowed down: ‘I had the kids and wasn’t being offered a whole bunch of stuff,’ she explained (pictured 2008)

‘I had the kids and wasn’t being offered a whole bunch of stuff,’ she explained.

‘I was going around with Marc. I went on two or three tours with him.’

And with her then label, Sony, going through major changes of its own, her musical career was also hanging by a thread.

The Jenny From The Block singer and Marc ultimately called off their marriage in July 2011 with the divorce finalized in 2016.

Jennifer went on to credit her time as a judge on American Idol as the role that brought her back into the spotlight.

‘Everybody was like, “Don’t do this. Your career will be over, and they won’t offer you any movies. They’ll think you’re a joke as an artist.” And I was like, “The truth is, I’m not getting offered a whole bunch of movies, so what are they not going to offer me?”‘

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People warned her not to do American Idol: ‘Everybody was like, “Don’t do this. Your career will be over, and they won’t offer you any movies. They’ll think you’re a joke as an artist.” And I was like, “The truth is, I’m not getting offered a whole bunch of movies, so what are they not going to offer me?” (pictured in 2016)

Jennifer retained her role as a top judge for seasons 9 through 15 (only missing season 11 which Mariah Carey took her place for).

Despite the previous dismay of many before she took the role, the nature of reality TV allowed her to get reacquainted with audiences and showcase her emotions, launching back into the spotlight.

Today, Jennifer is once again one of the hardest working Hollywood celebrities.

With her movie, Hustlers, to come out early next month and It’s My Party tour wrapped up, she’s also thinking about directing her first movie, The Godmother, which she also has the lead role in.

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Back to dance again! Despite the previous dismay of many before she took the role, the nature of reality TV allowed her to get reacquainted with audiences and showcase her emotions, launching back into the spotlight (pictured 2019)

She’s also scheduled to be back in the studio to record music for her movie, Marry Me.

And between all her professional commitments, she’s in the midst of planning her wedding to Alex Rodriguez.

While promoting Hustlers on Sunday, she told Extra: ‘We haven’t really planned it yet.

‘You know, the rest of this year, I have another movie, I have a TV show, I have kids, I have an album, I have a lot of things… Alex has baseball for the rest of the year.’

The couple began dating in 2017, and they got engaged earlier this year while vacationing in the Bahamas.

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Family: And between all her professional commitments, she’s in the midst of planning her wedding to Alex Rodriguez