The Empowering Message Jennifer Lopez Is Passing on to Her Daughter

Jennifer Lopez is close to and proud of both of her 10-year-old twins, Max and Emme. She's given us particular insight into her connection with her daughter. In an excerpt from an interview with Red, J. Lo says that she's trying to give her more empowering messages than the ones she learned as a child.

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Jennifer Lopez is close to and deeply proud of her 10-year-old twins, Max and Emme. She's given us particular insight into her connection with her daughter, who's expressed a keen interest in her mom's work and is even getting singing lessons from her famous mom. In an interview with Red, J.Lo says that she's trying to give Emme more empowering messages than the ones she learned as a child.

"'A Prince is going to save you,' 'Wait for true love and that’s what makes you happy,' 'If you’re not married, you’re not happy,'" the singer-actress-producer remembers hearing as a child.

She's been deliberately delivering a very different message to Emme. "My daughter is eons above me already. She said to me when she was 8, 'I don’t know if I want to get married, Mommy,'" J.Lo said. "And when she said that I was like ‘YES!’ because I’ve been teaching her to love herself since she was little.'"

One of the (many, many) reasons J.Lo gets along so well with her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez is because he's just about the hardest worker in his profession, just like her. So they have the same values as partners, and as parents. "We have the same work ethic. We also appreciate and know that coming from nothing, we always want to try to help and give back and teach our kids that."

J.Lo says she realized she had to "be better" once she had her two children. "So I started doing a lot of work on myself," she says. "I started searching spiritually, religion, all of it. Self-help, life coach, meditation, yoga, more meditation."

The latest of her impressive work on herself? The #10DayChallenge: Going without sugar or carbs for 10 days. J.Lo just showed off her enviable abs, several days in to the challenge she's doing with A. Rod.

Even though she's complaining about no sugar in her cafe con leche and being hungry all the time, per her Instagram Stories), she's also showing off some really healthy eating. I'm not giving up sugar anytime soon, but thanks for the inspo, J.Lo!

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Katherine J. Igoe
Contributing Editor

Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York TimesParentsInStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLEHarper’s BazaarSeventeenGood Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award. 

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeanshow sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.