Jennifer Lopez recalls getting rejected for roles due to her ethnicity

Jennifer Lopez, who is a top-selling vocalist, an applauded actor, and a producer, has also seen her fair share of tough times.

Lopez's life wasn't always this charmed, as she recalled in her cover story for Variety. The 50-year-old star shared that she was turned down for roles in the past because of her ethnicity.

"Maybe 30 years ago, it was very 'Oh, you're the Latin girl. You'll do Spsh roles, you'll play maids, you'll only be limited to this little box.' It's about getting people in the business -- the agents, the managers, the Tommy Mottolas of the world -- to believe this girl can do more," she told Variety.

"But you have to prove yourself too," she added.

In 1991, the 'Hustlers' actor got her first break in the industry as a Fly Girl in American comedy series 'In Living Color'. Six years later, at the age of 26, the star was cast as the late Selena Quintlla in the biopic 'Selena'. Lopez, who landed the role over more than 20,000 other actors, became the first-ever Latina actor to earn a USD 1 million paycheck.

Reflecting on that time, Lopez told Variety, "I was too young and didn't know what the hell was going on. It was great they offered me a million dollars. I feel like everyone was making a statement."

Lopez will be next seen on the big screen in the highly-anticipated film, 'Hustlers', which follows the story of a group of strip club employees who work together to hustle their high-profile clients. For the upcoming flick, Lopez had to dance in a G-string, which "terrified" her.

"I was terrified. I felt exposed. I was like, 'I've never done anything like this. I'm going to be up there in f--king dental floss. What is this? Who is this person?'" Lopez said.

"And then you get up there, and you have to have a 'f--k you,' empowered attitude. You have to take your power back. You have to be so bold. It's almost like when you say you're a rock star, you have to be arrogant to go up there in front of all those people or you crumble. You realize it's the same type of b--ls that it takes to do something like that. And these women have that. They are tough, hard, vulnerable and damaged. It's a great character to play," she added.

On top of being a singer, dancer, actor, and producer, Lopez is also a businesswoman, a mother and a fiancee following beau Alex Rodriguez's proposal in March.

Opening up about her relationship with Rodriguez, Lopez shared, "He loves being at every show that he can be at. I go to all his baseball games. There were times in my life when my career was going great, and my personal life was going OK. And there were times my personal life was stable, but my career was not great. This is the first time where I have a really beautiful alignment between the two. I think Alex brought that for me. I love it."

On the work front, Lopez will be next seen in 'Hustlers', starring alongside Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Julia Stiles and Cardi B. The film is slated to hit the theatres on September 13.

Lopez began her 'It's My Party' tour in June and will continue to tour in North America throughout the summer.

( With inputs from ANI )