J-Lo: No Grammy or Oscar, but she’s a five-time icon

Jennifer Lopez is living proof that you don’t need a lot of awards to be considered a success in the entertainment biz.

When Jennifer received the Icon Award at the Elle Women in Hollywood event earlier this year, she addressed the fact that she has yet to win any major industry-approved trophy in her storied career.

“I don’t have an Oscar. And I don’t have a Golden Globe. And I don’t have a Grammy or a SAG Award or a BAFTA or a Critics Choice or a Hollywood Film Award,” J-Lo said. “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 I was gonna have on my list was icon.”

The multitalented star noted that she’s struggled her entire career with opposition to, as she put it, “the idea that you could do many different things and be taken seriously.”

“The idea was that you were not as real a musician if you were also an actress, or you’re not a serious actor if you’re a dancer …” she said. “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.”

But, Jen pointed out, “The actual magic of being a woman is to be able to do many different things, and do them spectacularly, and quietly with our heads down day to day without complaining and most times with little appreciation and recognition.”

So, she concluded, “Why can’t we do all the things?! I will always believe that we can, that all of you can, that I can.”