Jennifer Lopez recalls neighbours ‘scraping’ to survive

Jennifer Lopez grew up surrounded by people “scraping and clawing, trying to get by”.

The musician-and-actress is among the wealthiest stars on the planet but was raised in the once-impoverished New York City borough of The Bronx, which she says has “inspired” her success.

The 45-year-old entertainer has detailed her early years in her new book, ‘True Love: Unabridged’ – excerpts of which appear in Latina magazine – in which she writes: “Our neighbors were so diverse; Puerto Rican, African-American, Italian and everyone was scraping and clawing, trying to get by.

“My mum worked two jobs and my dad worked at Guardian Life Insurance. My sisters and I shared a bed and every morning we were bundled off to Catholic school. That’s why my parents worked those long hours so they could give us a good education and raise us right.”

The ‘On The Floor’ hitmaker admitted the values she was taught by her parents – Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez – remain with her today.

She explained: “There was that Bronx mentality of taking everything as it comes it was about pressing forward today knowing that the break was gonna come. I was relentless, always reaching forward.

“There was a certain hustle I grew up with, a hustle that I learned from watching my parents. They showed me that you put your head down and work, you work for a living and then when you’re making a living you carry on.

“That continues to be my mentality now, you don’t stop working just because you have money in the bank – you do what you do and you keep on doing it.”