Coordinates	21°58′30″N96°5′0″N
name	Money Train
director	Joseph Ruben
producer	Neil CantonJon Peters
screenplay	Doug RichardsonDavid Loughery
story	Doug Richardson
starring	Wesley SnipesWoody HarrelsonRobert BlakeJennifer Lopez
music	Mark Mancina
cinematography	John Lindley
editing	George BowersBill Pankow
distributor	Columbia Pictures
released	November 22, 1995
runtime	110 min.
country	United States
language	English
budget	$68 million (est)
gross	$77,224,232 }}

''Money Train'' is a 1995 American comedy thriller film starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Lopez as New York City transit cops. After losing his job, Harrelson's character plots to hijack and then rob the "money train" which hauls collected fare revenues for the New York City Subway from the system's stations.

Plot

A pair of New York City cops collaborate on a plan to rob a cash-packed subway train in this action-comedy. Charlie and John are not just co-workers and close friends but also foster brothers. Because of this family connection, the reluctant John becomes involved in the more capricious Charlie's far-fetched scheme to rob the "money train" that collects the subway's daily grosses. Charlie needs the money for gambling debts, and robbing the train would have the added benefit of angering Charlie's and John's harsh, corrupt boss Captain Patterson (Robert Blake). Romantic interest is provided by a fellow police officer (Jennifer Lopez) who sparks rivalry between the brothers, but the film's main interest is in the violent events that surround the attempted heist, which naturally proves more complicated than planned.

Production

The subway car used as the money train in the film is a modified R22 subway car. The rolling stock was modified by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and film crew into an imposing subway train covered in silver armor plating and equipped with flashing orange lights and sliding barred doors, like those on a jail cell. After production, the car was donated to the New York Transit Museum, and is currently stored at the Coney Island Complex, as of February 2010. The actual money train resembled a normal maintenance train painted yellow with black diagonal stripes. The New York City subway system retired its money trains in 2006; the introduction of the MetroCard and computerized vending machines that allowed fare payment by credit card have dramatically reduced the number of coins stored in subway stations.

Reception

The film took in $35,431,113 at the North American box office, including $10,608,297 on its opening weekend. With a budget at an estimated $68,000,000, the film was a huge box office bomb. It was generally poorly received by film critics, described by one reviewer as "a loud and truly pointless action-comedy".

In addition to its middling reviews, the film was vilified for its portrayal of a man robbing a ticket booth by running a rubber tube around the bulletproof partition and dousing the attendant with an unknown flammable liquid, then threatening to set them on fire. This crime was repeated in real life after the film's release, although the police did not think the similar crime was related to the film. Nevertheless, many people including Bob Dole called for a boycott of the film.

Cast

Wesley Snipes - John

Woody Harrelson - Charlie

Jennifer Lopez - Grace Santiago

Robert Blake - Donald Patterson

Chris Cooper - Torch

Joe Grifasi - Riley

Scott Sowers - Mr. Brown

Skipp Sudduth - Kowalski

References

See also

Kingston–Throop Avenues (IND Fulton Street Line)

External links

Movie stills

Category:1995 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Films set in New York City Category:1990s thriller films Category:1990s comedy films Category:Heist films Category:American comedy thriller films Category:Rail transport films Category:Films directed by Joseph Ruben

bg:Влакът трезор da:Money Train de:Money Train fr:Money Train id:Money Train it:Money Train nl:Money Train ja:マネー・トレイン pl:Pociąg z forsą pt:Money Train ru:Поезд с деньгами sr:Воз пун лове tr:Para Treni

Coordinates	21°58′30″N96°5′0″N
name	Wesley Trent Snipes
birth date	July 31, 1962
birth name	Wesley Trent Snipes
birth place	Orlando, Florida, U.S.
occupation	Actor, martial artist, film producer
years active	1987–2010
spouse	April Dubois (1985–1990) Nikki Park (2003–present) }}

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film series, amoung various other high profile roles. Snipes formed a production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television. Snipes has been training in martial arts since age 12, earning a high ranking 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido. He has also trained as a student of Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Snipes is serving a prison sentence for misdemeanor failure to file U.S. federal income tax returns.

Early life

Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian, a teacher's assistant, and Wesley R. Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up in the Bronx, New York City. He attended P.S. 132, an elementary school in the Bronx. Snipes graduated from I.S. 131, a middle school in the Bronx, and also attended the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing, but moved back to Florida before he could graduate. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando, Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase, before being asked to leave his junior year. Snipes also attended Southwest College in Los Angeles

Career

Acting and Rise to Fame

At age 23, Snipes was discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. He made his film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle ''Wildcats''. Later that year he appeared on the TV show ''Miami Vice'' as a drug-dealing pimp in the episode "Streetwise" (first aired December 5, 1986). In 1987, he appeared as Michael Jackson's nemesis in the Martin Scorsese-directed music video "Bad" and the feature film ''Streets of Gold''. That same year, Snipes was also considered for the role of Geordi La Forge in the TV series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.

Snipes' performance in the music video "Bad" caught the eye of director Spike Lee. Snipes turned down a small role in Lee's ''Do the Right Thing'' for the larger part of Willie Mays Hayes in ''Major League'', beginning a succession of box-office hits for Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist Shadow Henderson in ''Mo' Better Blues'' and as the lead in the interracial romance drama ''Jungle Fever''. He played the drug lord Nino Brown in ''New Jack City'', which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper. He also played a drug dealer in the 1994 film ''Sugar Hill''.

Although Snipes is better known for his roles in action films like ''Passenger 57'', ''Demolition Man'' (with Sylvester Stallone), ''Money Train'', ''The Fan'', ''U.S. Marshals'' and ''Rising Sun'', he has also had success in comedies like ''White Men Can't Jump'', and ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar'' where he played a drag queen alongside Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo. Snipes has also received critical acclaim for his performances in dramas like ''The Waterdance'' and ''Disappearing Acts''.

In 1997, he won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in New Line Cinema's ''One Night Stand''. In 1998, Snipes had his largest commercial success with ''Blade'', which has grossed over $150 million worldwide. The film turned into a successful series. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase.

Most of his latest films have been released straight-to-DVD. His latest films are ''The Shooter'' (also known as ''The Contractor''), filmed in Bulgaria and the UK, with Charles Dance, Lena Heady and Eliza Bennett, ''Gallowwalker'', released in 2009, and ''Game Of Death'' with Ernie Hudson, Robert Davi, Zoe Bell, and Gary Daniels.

Snipes was originally slated to play one of the four leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film ''Miracle at St. Anna'' but had to leave the film due to his widely publicized tax problems; his role eventually went to Derek Luke.

Snipes made a comeback performance in ''Brooklyn's Finest'' as Caz, a supporting character. He also had to turn down the part of Hale Caesar in ''The Expendables'' because he was not allowed to leave the United States without the court's approval. He was also offered the role of Nick Curran in ''Basic Instinct'' but turned it down because of commitments on another film. He is currently in talks with Sylvester Stallone about a part in a sequel to ''The Expendables''.

Other ventures

In the late 1990s, Snipes and his brother started a security firm called the Royal Guard of Amen-Ra, dedicated to providing VIPs with bodyguards trained in law enforcement and martial arts.

In 2000, the business was investigated for alleged ties to the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. It emerged that Snipes had spotted of land with the intention to buy and use for his business academy, which were close to the aforesaid compound in Putnam County, Georgia. Both Snipes' business and the groups used Egyptian motifs as their symbols.

Ultimately, Snipes and his brother did not buy the land, instead establishing their company in Florida, Antigua, and Africa. The compound was raided in 2002 and their leader was convicted. Later the conviction was overturned.

In 2005, Snipes was in negotiations to fight ''Fear Factor'' host Joe Rogan.

Personal life

Snipes has been romantically linked to a number of women, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Sanaa Lathan, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez. He has been married twice, first to April Snipes, with whom he has a son, Jelani Asar Snipes, born in 1988. Jelani had a cameo role in Snipes's 1990 film ''Mo' Better Blues''. In 2003, Snipes married painter Nakyung "Nikki" Park, with whom he has four children: son Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes, daughter Iset Jua-T Snipes (born July 31, 2001), son Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes (born May 26, 2004), and son Alimayu Moa-T Snipes (born March 26, 2007). Snipes spends a lot of time in Park's home country of South Korea, which he calls his "second home."

Snipes, who was raised a Christian, converted to Black Nation Of Islam in 1978 but left the Black Nation Of Islam in 1988.

Snipes's apartment was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers during the September 11 attacks. He was on the west coast at the time. During his time in New York Snipes was trained in fighting by his friend and mentor Brooke Ellis.

Legal troubles

New Line lawsuit

In 2005, Snipes sued New Line Cinema, and David S. Goyer, director of ''Blade: Trinity'', which Snipes also produced. He claimed that the studio did not pay his full salary, that he was intentionally cut out of casting decisions, and that his character's screen time was reduced in favor of co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel.

Snipes contends that Goyer, his fellow producers, and New Line kept him out of the project's decision process, and that this alleged misconduct ended up harming the film's box office performance (it made just $52 million, compared to the previous installments' respective grosses of $70 million and $82 million). He says that a portion of his salary—$3.6 million—was withheld as punishment. Neither Goyer nor New Line has commented on these allegations. The suit is still pending.

Incident involving South African passport

In 2005, Snipes was detained at OR Tambo International Airport for attempting to leave South Africa using a fraudulent South African passport .

Federal tax convictions

On October 12, 2006, Wesley Snipes, Eddie Ray Kahn, and Douglas P. Rosile were charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the United States under and one count of knowingly making or aiding and abetting the making of a false and fraudulent claim for payment against the United States, under and . Snipes was also charged with six counts of willfully failing to file federal income tax returns by their filing dates under . The conspiracy charge against Snipes included allegations that he filed a false amended return, including a false tax refund claim of over US$4 million for the year 1996, and a false amended return, including a false tax refund claim of over US$7.3 million for the year 1997. The government alleged that Snipes attempted to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using a tax protester theory called the "861 argument" (essentially, an argument that the domestic income of U.S. citizens and residents is not taxable). The indictment said Snipes used accountants who already had a history of filing false returns to obtain refund payments for their clients. The government also charged that Snipes sent three worthless, fictitious "bills of exchange" to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amounts of $1,000,000 (on November 30, 2000), $12,000,000 (January 18, 2001), and $1,000,000 (September 10, 2002), each accompanied by an IRS tax payment voucher coupon.

Snipes was a client of American Rights Litigators, which Kahn operated. As a client, Snipes gave a percentage of his tax refunds to Kahn's organization. The government also charged that Snipes failed to file tax returns for the years 1999 through 2004.

In a December 4, 2006, letter from Snipes in response to his indictment, he declared himself "a non-resident alien" of the United States; in reality, Snipes is a U.S.-born citizen. Snipes said he was being made an example of and was unfairly targeted by prosecutors because of his fame in connection with the federal tax fraud investigation. He attempted unsuccessfully to get the trial moved away from Ocala, Florida, on the ground that racist attitudes in that town would prejudice his chance for a fair trial. Snipes faced the possibility of serving up to 16 years in prison and paying substantial fines if convicted on all the charges. The trial began on January 14, 2008, in Ocala, Florida, with opening statements beginning on January 16, 2008. On February 1, 2008, Snipes was acquitted on the felony count of conspiracy to defraud the government and on the felony count of filing a false claim with the government. He was, however, found guilty on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns (and acquitted on three other "failure to file" charges). His co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on the conspiracy and false claim charges in connection with the income tax refund claims filed for Snipes.

On April 24, 2008, Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for willful failure to file federal income tax returns under . Kahn was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Rosile was sentenced to four and half years in prison. In April 2009, the ''Los Angeles Wave'' reported that Snipes has refused to answer certain questions in connection with a talent agency lawsuit in which the agency claims that Snipes owes over $1.4 million in commissions. Snipes is reported to have taken the position that his answers could incriminate him in a federal tax investigation. Lawyers for the talent agency stated that Snipes' lawyer advised the lawyers for the talent agency that "Snipes and his [ . . . ] companies are under an additional investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and Snipes would be asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and would not answer any questions at his deposition." On May 22, 2008, the trial court ruled that Snipes could remain free while his appeal is being considered.

On July 16, 2010, in a 35-page decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Snipes's convictions. At the conclusion of its decision, the Court of Appeals stated:

On November 19, 2010, the United States District Court in Ocala, Florida, denied motions for permission to interview jurors and motions for a new trial which had been filed by attorneys for Snipes. The Court ordered that the judgment of commitment be enforced. In the 17-page order, the Court also granted the prosecution's motion to revoke the bail for Snipes. Until December 9, 2010, Snipes remained free on bail to work, even traveling internationally, while he appealed his conviction.

Imprisonment

On December 9, 2010, Snipes reported to the McKean Federal Correctional Institution near Lewis Run, Pennsylvania. In a television appearance on December 7, 2010, Snipes was asked by CNN's Larry King if he was nervous about going to prison, and he admitted his trepidation about doing time. "I think any man would be nervous," Snipes said. "Given the length of time that they are suggesting that I be away from my family, away from my profession, away from my ability to provide for my family and for those who have depended upon me to contribute to society ... I think anyone would be nervous about that."

On June 6, 2011, the United States Supreme Court dismissed Snipes' appeal. Snipes' projected date of release is July 19, 2013.

Awards and nominations

!	! Category	! Title	! Result
	Best Fight
Best Villain
Best Screen-duo	''White Men Can't Jump''
Best Villain	''New Jack City''
Best Kiss	''White Men Can't Jump''
Venice Film Festival	Best Actor (Volpi Cup)
Hollywood Walk of Fame	7020 Hollywood Blvd
Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Actor	''The Waterdance''	Nominated
	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series	''America's Dream''
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture	''New Jack City''
CableACE Awards	Best Actor in a Dramatic Series	''Vietnam War Story''
	Favorite Duo - Action/Adventure		Nominated
Favorite Actor - Horror
	Best Actor (Motion Picture)
Network/Cable - Best Actor	''Disappearing Acts''
WorldFest Houston	Gold Special Jury Award - Best Actors (shared)	''The Waterdance''

Filmography

''Vietnam War Story II'' ''Major League (film) ''Mo' Better Blues'' ''New Jack City'' ''The Waterdance'' ''Boiling Point (1993 film) ''Sugar Hill (1994 film) ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything ''The Fan (1996 film) >''America's Dream'' ''U.S. Marshals (film) ''The Black And The White'' ''The Art of War (film) ''Liberty Stands Still'' ''Unstoppable (2004 film) ''7 Seconds (film) ''Hard Luck'' ''The Contractor'' ''The Art of War II: Betrayal'' ''Brooklyn's Finest''

Year
rowspan="2"	1986	Wildcats (film)>Wildcats''	Trumaine
''Streets of Gold (film)	Streets of Gold''	Roland Jenkins
1988	|	Young Soldier	Direct-to-video
1989	Major League'' ||	"Willie Mays" Hayes
rowspan="2"	1990	|	Shadow Handerson
''King of New York''	Thomas Flanigan
rowspan="2"	1991	|	Nino Brown	Nominated- MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
''Jungle Fever''	Flipper "Flip" Purify
rowspan="3"	1992	|	Raymond Hill
''White Men Can't Jump''	Sidney "Syd" Deane
''Passenger 57''	John Cutter
rowspan="3"	1993	Boiling Point'' ||	Jimmy Mercer
''Rising Sun (film)	Rising Sun''	Lt. Webster "Web" Smith
''Demolition Man (film)	Demolition Man''	Simon Phoenix
rowspan="2"	1994	Sugar Hill'' ||	Roemello Skugs
''Drop Zone (film)	Drop Zone''	Pete Nessip
rowspan="3"	1995	Julie Newmar''	Noxeema Jackson
''Money Train''	John
''Waiting to Exhale''	James Wheeler
rowspan="1"	1996	The Fan'' ||	Bobby "Bob" Rayburn
rowspan="3"	1997	|	George Du Vail	TV
''Murder at 1600''	Detective Harlan Regis
''One Night Stand (1997 film)	One Night Stand''
rowspan="4"	1998	U.S. Marshals'' ||	Mark J. Sheridan/Warren/Roberts
''Blade (film)	Blade''	Blade (comics)>Blade/Eric Brooks/The Daywalker
''Futuresport''	Obike Fixx
''Down in the Delta''	Will Sinclair
rowspan="1"	1999	|	Dominic Robdal
rowspan="2"	2000	The Art of War'' ||	Neil Shaw
''Disappearing Acts''	Franklin Swift
rowspan="4"	2002	|	Joe
''Blade II''	Blade (comics)>Blade/Eric Brooks/The Daywalker
''ZigZag''	David "Dave" Fletcher
''Undisputed (film)	Undisputed''	Monroe "Undisputed" Hutchens
rowspan="2"	2004	Unstoppable'' ||	Dean Cage	Direct-to-DVD
''Blade: Trinity''	Blade (comics)>Blade/Eric Brooks/The Daywalker
rowspan="2"	2005	7 Seconds'' ||	Jack Tulliver	Direct-to-DVD
''The Marksman''	Painter
rowspan="3"	2006	|	Lucky	Direct-to-DVD
''Chaos (2006 film)	Chaos''	Jason York/Scott Curtis/Lorenz
''The Detonator''	Sonni Griffith
2007	|	James Dial	Direct-to-DVD
2008	|	Neil Shaw	Direct-to-DVD
rowspan="3"	2010	|	Casanova "Caz" Phillips	Black Reel Award: Best Supporting Actor>Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
''Game of Death (2010 film)	Game of Death''	Agent Marcus
''Gallowwalker''	Aman

TV series

''Vietnam War Story'' ''A Man Called Hawk'' ''H.E.L.P.'' ''Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child ''The Bernie Mac Show''

Year !! Title !! Role !! Episode
1986	''Miami Vice''	Silk
1987	|	Young Soldier	An Old Ghost Walks the Earth
rowspan="2"	1989	|	Nicholas Murdock	Choice of Chance
''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd''	Hood
1990	|	Lou Barton	Series lead
1997	Happily Ever After'' ||	The Pied Piper	The Pied Piper
2002	|	Duke	Rope-a-Dope

Other

''Waiting to Exhale'' ''Masters of the Martial Arts presented by Wesley Snipes'' ''Play It to the Bone''

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1987	Critical Condition (film)>Critical Condition''	Ambulance Driver
1995	|	James Wheeler	uncredited
rowspan="2"	1998	|	Himself	Documentary
''Jackie Chan: My Story''	Himself
1999	|	Ringside Fan	Cameo appearance

References

External links

Picture of Snipes' fake South African Passport

The Snipes Trial - a website by commentator J.J. MacNab on the criminal tax trial of Wesley Snipes

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:African American film actors Category:People from Alpine, New Jersey Category:Actors from New York City Category:People from the Bronx Category:People from Orlando, Florida Category:American people convicted of tax crimes Category:American prisoners and detainees Category:American tax resisters Category:American television actors Category:State University of New York at Purchase alumni Category:American former Muslims Category:American wushu practitioners Category:American hapkido practitioners Category:American karateka Category:American capoeira practitioners Category:American practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government

ar:ويسلي سنايبس az:Uesli Snayps cs:Wesley Snipes co:Wesley Snipes cy:Wesley Snipes da:Wesley Snipes de:Wesley Snipes et:Wesley Snipes es:Wesley Snipes eo:Wesley Snipes fr:Wesley Snipes ko:웨슬리 스나입스 hr:Wesley Snipes id:Wesley Snipes it:Wesley Snipes he:וסלי סנייפס jv:Wesley Snipes lb:Wesley Snipes hu:Wesley Snipes nl:Wesley Snipes ja:ウェズリー・スナイプス no:Wesley Snipes pl:Wesley Snipes pt:Wesley Snipes ru:Снайпс, Уэсли simple:Wesley Snipes srn:Wesley Snipes sr:Весли Снајпс fi:Wesley Snipes sv:Wesley Snipes th:เวสลีย์ สไนปส์ tr:Wesley Snipes

Coordinates	21°58′30″N96°5′0″N
name	Nick Cave
background	solo_singer
born	September 22, 1957Warracknabeal, Victoria, Australia
instrument	Guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals
genre	Post-punk, alternative rock, garage rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer, actor
years active	1973–present
label	Mute
associated acts	Boys Next Door, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Grinderman, The Birthday Party
notable instruments	}}

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.

He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and musical styles. Before that, he had fronted the group The Birthday Party in the early 1980s, a band renowned for its highly dark, challenging lyrics and violent sound influenced by free jazz, blues, and post-punk. In 2006, he formed the garage rock band Grinderman that released its debut the following year. Cave's music is generally characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences, and lyrical obsessions with "religion, death, love, America, and violence."

Upon Cave's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, ARIA Awards committee chairman Ed St John said, “Nick Cave has enjoyed—and continues to enjoy—one of the most extraordinary careers in the annals of popular music. He is an Australian artist like Sidney Nolan is an Australian artist—beyond comparison, beyond genre, beyond dispute."

Youth and education

Cave was born in the small town of Warracknabeal in the state of Victoria, Australia, to Dawn and Colin Cave. He has two brothers: Tim (b. 1952) and Peter (b. 1954), and a sister, Julie (b. 1959). As a child, he lived in Warracknabeal and then Wangaratta in rural Victoria. His father was an English teacher and administrator, with a love of literature, and his mother was a librarian. His grandfather, Frank J. Cave, was a prominent radio broadcaster and documentary film producer.

Raised as an Anglican, Cave sang in the boys choir at Wangaratta Cathedral. He grew to detest the attitudes of small-town Australia, and he was often in trouble with the local school authorities, so his parents sent him to boarding school at Melbourne's Caulfield Grammar School in 1970. Cave joined the school choir under choirmaster Norman Kaye, and also benefited from having a piano in his home. The following year he became a "day boy" when his family moved to Murrumbeena, a suburb of Melbourne. Cave was 19 when his father was killed in a car accident; at the moment he was informed of this, his mother Dawn Cave was bailing him out of a St Kilda police station for a charge of burglary. Cave would later recall that his father "died at a point in my life when I was most confused", and "the loss of my father created in my life a vacuum, a space in which my words began to float and collect and find their purpose".

After his secondary schooling, Cave studied painting (Fine Art) at the Caulfield Institute of Technology (now Monash University, Caulfield Campus) in 1976, but dropped out in 1977 to pursue music. He also began using heroin around this time. On 28 March 2008, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from this university.

Music career

Early years and The Birthday Party (1973–84)

In 1973, Cave met Mick Harvey (guitar), Phill Calvert (drums), John Cochivera (guitar), Brett Purcell (bass), and Chris Coyne (saxophone); fellow students at Caulfield Grammar. They founded a band with Cave as singer. Their repertoire consisted of proto-punk cover versions of songs by Lou Reed, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Roxy Music and Alex Harvey, among others. Later, the line-up slimmed down to four members including Cave's friend Tracy Pew on bass. In 1977, after leaving school, they adopted the name The Boys Next Door and began playing predominantly original material. Guitarist and songwriter Rowland S. Howard joined the band in 1978, expanding to five members.

From 1977 until their dissolution in 1984 (by which time they were known as The Birthday Party) the band explored various styles. They were a part of Melbourne's post-punk music scene in the late 1970s, playing hundreds of live shows in Australia before changing their name to the Birthday Party in 1980 and moving to London, then West Berlin. Cave's Australian girlfriend and muse Anita Lane accompanied them to London. The band were notorious for their provocative live performances which featured Cave shrieking, bellowing and throwing himself about the stage, backed up by harsh pounding rock music laced with guitar feedback. At that time, Cave became a regular member of a gothic club in London called The Batcave.

After establishing a cult following in Europe and Australia, The Birthday Party disbanded in 1984. Howard and Cave found it difficult to continue working together and both were rather worn down from alcohol and drug use.

Current career with The Bad Seeds (since 1984)

The band with Cave as their leader and frontman has released fourteen studio albums. Their most recent album, ''Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'' was released on 8 April 2008. Though their sound tends to change considerably from one album to another, the one constant of the band is an unpolished blending of disparate genres, and song structures which provide a vehicle for Cave's virtuosic, frequently histrionic theatrics.

Critics Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Steve Huey write, "With the Bad Seeds, Cave continued to explore his obsessions with religion, death, love, America, and violence with a bizarre, sometimes self-consciously eclectic hybrid of blues, gospel, rock, and arty post-punk, although in a more subdued fashion than his work with the Birthday Party". Pitchfork Media calls the group one of rock's "most enduring, redoubtable" bands, with an accomplished discography.

Cave and the band curated an edition of the famous All Tomorrow's Parties music festival, the first in Australia, throughout the country in January 2009.

Solo work and Grinderman

In addition to his performances with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Cave has, since the 1990s, performed live 'solo' tours with himself on piano/vocals, Warren Ellis on violin/accordion and various others on bass and drums. The current trio are Bad Seeds' Martyn P. Casey, Jim Sclavunos and Ellis (nicknamed the ''Mini-Seeds''). In 2006, this line-up, now including Cave on electric guitar, continued his 'solo' tours performing Bad Seeds material.

In the same year three other Bad Seeds, Mick Harvey, Thomas Wydler and James Johnston, undertook Harvey's first 'solo' tours of Europe and Australia performing material from his own albums. Melbourne double bassist Rosie Westbrook completed the quartet.

An album of new material by Cave's 'solo' quartet, now named Grinderman, was released in March 2007.

Nick Cave 'solo' and Grinderman both played at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in April 2007. This was Grinderman's first public performance. Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream accompanied Grinderman on backing vocals and percussion.

Soundtrack involvement

Many of Nick Cave's songs have found their way into movie soundtracks. One of the earliest to feature Cave's distinctive style by incorporating him as part of the movie's music scene—circa 1979—was ''Dogs in Space'', a film by Richard Lowenstein. Cave performed parts of the Boys Next Door song "Shivers" twice during the film, once on video and once live.

Another early fan of Cave's was German director Wim Wenders, who lists Cave, along with Lou Reed and Portishead, as among his favorites. Two of Cave's songs were featured in his 1987 film ''Wings of Desire''. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds also make a cameo appearance in this film. Two more songs were included in Wenders' 1993 sequel ''Faraway, So Close!'', including the title track. The soundtrack for Wenders' 1991 film ''Until the End of the World'' features Cave's "(I'll Love You) Till the End of the World." His most recent production, ''Palermo Shooting'', also contains a Nick Cave song, as does his 2003 documentary ''The Soul of a Man''.

Cave's songs have also appeared in a number of Hollywood blockbusters and major TV shows. For instance, his "There is a Light" appears on the 1995 soundtrack for ''Batman Forever'', and "Red Right Hand" appeared in a number of films and TV shows, including ''The X-Files'', ''Dumb & Dumber''; ''Scream'', its sequels ''Scream 2'' and ''3'', and ''Hellboy'' (performed by Pete Yorn). In ''Scream 3'', the song was given a reworking with Cave writing new lyrics and adding an orchestra to the arrangement of the track. This version appears on The Bad Seeds B-Sides and Rarities album. The song "People Ain't No Good" was featured in the animated movie ''Shrek 2'', as well as in one of the episodes of the television series ''The L Word''. Cave also sang a cover of The Beatles' "Let It Be," for the 2001 film ''I Am Sam''.

Original material written for movie productions includes the song "To Be By Your Side," for the soundtrack of the 2001 French documentary ''Le Peuple Migrateur'' (called ''Winged Migration'' in the US). Cave composed the soundtrack for the 2005 film ''The Proposition'' with fellow Australian and Bad Seed Warren Ellis. Cave and Ellis once again collaborated on the music for the 2007 film ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford''. Also in 2007, Cave and Ellis wrote the soundtrack for the feature documentary ''The English Surgeon''. The duo also provided original music for ''The Road'' in 2009 and the soundtrack for the audiobook of Cave's novel ''The Death of Bunny Munro''.

Most recently, his song "Up Jumped the Devil" was featured in the Remedy-developed 2010 video game Alan Wake.

Cave's song "O Children" was featured in the 2010 movie, though not in the official soundtrack, of ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1.''

Work with other artists

Nick Cave has also played with Shane MacGowan, in a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Death is Not the End", and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". Cave has also performed "What a Wonderful World" live with The Flaming Lips. Cave recorded a cover version of the Pogues song "Rainy Night in Soho", written by MacGowan. MacGowan also sings a version of "Lucy", released on ''B-Sides and Rarities''. On 3 May 2008, during the ''Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'' tour Shane MacGowan joined Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on stage to perform "Lucy" at Dublin Castle in Ireland. Pulp's single "Bad Cover Version" includes on its B-side a cover version by Cave of that band's song "Disco 2000". On the Deluxe Edition of Pulp's ''Different Class'' another take of this cover can be found.

In 2000, one of Cave's heroes, Johnny Cash, covered Cave's "The Mercy Seat" on the album ''American III: Solitary Man'', seemingly repaying Cave for the compliment he paid by covering Cash's "The Singer" (originally "The Folk Singer") on his ''Kicking Against the Pricks'' album. Cave was then invited to be one of many rock and country artists to contribute to the liner notes of the retrospective ''The Essential Johnny Cash'' CD, released to coincide with Cash's 70th birthday. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" for Cash's ''American IV: The Man Comes Around'' album (2002). A similar duet, the American folk song "Cindy", was released posthumously on the "Johnny Cash: Unearthed" boxset. Cave's song "Let the Bells Ring" is a posthumous tribute to Cash. Cave has also covered the song "Wanted Man" which is best known as performed by Johnny Cash but is a Bob Dylan composition.

In 2004, Cave gave a hand to Marianne Faithfull on the album, ''Before the Poison''. He co-wrote and produced three songs ("Crazy Love", "There is a Ghost" and "Desperanto"), and the Bad Seeds are featured on all of them. He is also featured on "The Crane Wife" (originally by The Decemberists), on Faithfull's 2008 album, ''Easy Come, Easy Go''.

Cave collaborated with the band Current 93 on their album ''All the Pretty Little Horses'', where he sings the title track, a lullaby. For his 1996 album ''Murder Ballads'', Cave recorded "Where The Wild Roses Grow" with Kylie Minogue, and "Henry Lee" with P.J. Harvey.

Cave also took part in the "X-Files" compilation CD with some other artists, where he reads parts from the Bible combined with own texts, like "Time Jesum...", he outed himself as a fan of the series some years ago, but since he does not watch much TV, it was one of the only things he watched. He collaborated on the 2003 single "Bring It On", with Chris Bailey, formerly of the Australian punk group, The Saints. Cave contributed vocals to the song "Sweet Rosyanne", on the 2006 album ''Catch That Train!'' from Dan Zanes & Friends, a children's music group.

Literary career

Cave released his first book, ''King Ink'', in 1988. It is a collection of lyrics and plays, including collaborations with American ''enfant terrible'' Lydia Lunch. In 1997, he followed up with ''King Ink II'', containing lyrics, poems, and the transcript of a radio essay he did for the BBC in July 1996, "The Flesh Made Word," discussing in biographical format his relationship with Christianity. While he was based in West Berlin, Cave started working on what was to become his debut novel, ''And the Ass Saw the Angel'' (1989). Significant crossover is evident between the themes in the book and the lyrics Cave wrote in the late stages of the Birthday Party and the early stage of his solo career. "Swampland", from ''Mutiny'', in particular, uses the same linguistic stylings ('mah' for 'my', for instance) and some of the same themes (the narrator being haunted by the memory of a girl called Lucy, being hunted like an animal, approaching death and execution). On 21 January 2008, a special edition of Cave's novel ''And the Ass Saw the Angel'' was released. Cave's second novel, ''The Death of Bunny Munro'' was published on 8 September 2009 by Harper Collins books. ''The Death of Bunny Munro'', which tells the story of a sex-addicted salesman, was also released as a binaural audio-book produced by British Artists Forsyth and Jane Pollard and an iPhone app. The book originally started as a screenplay Cave was going to write for John Hillcoat.

As proof of his interest in scripture, so evident in his lyrics and his prose writing, Cave wrote the foreword to a Canongate publication of the ''Gospel according to Mark'', published in the UK in 1998. The American edition of the same book (published by Grove Press) contains a foreword by the noted American writer Barry Hannah.

Cave and Ellis composed scores for a production by the Icelandic theatre company Vesturport of ''Woyzeck'' by Georg Büchner, performed at the Barbican Theatre in the Barbican Arts Centre in London in 2005, and a stage adaptation of Franz Kafka's ''The Metamorphosis'' at the Lyric Hammersmith in London in 2006.

Cave is a contributor to the 2009 rock biography on The Triffids ''Vagabond Holes: David McComb and the Triffids'', edited by Australian academics Niall Lucy and Chris Coughran.

Acting and screenwriting

Cave has made occasional appearances as an actor, most prominently in the 1989 film ''Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead'', written and directed by John Hillcoat, and in the 1991 film ''Johnny Suede'', with Brad Pitt.

Cave appeared in the 2005 homage to Leonard Cohen, ''Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man'', in which he performed "I'm Your Man" solo, and "Suzanne" with Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla. He also appeared in the 2007 film adaptation of Ron Hansen's novel ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', where he sings a song about Jesse James. Cave and Warren Ellis are credited for the film's soundtrack.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are also featured in Wim Wenders' 1987 film ''Wings of Desire''.

Displaying a keen interest in other aspects of film, Cave wrote the screenplay for ''The Proposition'', a film set in the colonial Australian Outback. Directed by John Hillcoat and filmed in Queensland in 2004, it premiered in October 2005 and has since been released worldwide to critical acclaim. The movie reviewer for British newspaper ''The Independent'' called it "peerless," "a star-studded and uncompromisingly violent outlaw film." It even features on a website promoting tourism to the area. The generally ambient soundtrack was recorded by Cave and Warren Ellis.

At the request of friend Russell Crowe, Cave wrote a script for a proposed sequel to ''Gladiator'' which was rejected by the studio.

His interest in the work of Edward Gorey led to his participation in the BBC Radio 3 programme, guest+host=ghost, featuring Peter Blegvad and the radiophonic sound of the Langham Research Centre.

Cave has also lent his voice in narrating an award winning animated film called ''The Cat Piano''. It was directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson (of The People's Republic Of Animation), produced by Jessica Brentnall and has music by Benjamin Speed.

Cave wrote the screenplay for ''The Wettest County in the World''. He has also completed the script for a new film titled ''Death of a Ladies' Man'' and will rewrite the script of ''The Crow'' remake.

Personal life

Cave dated Anita Lane from the late 1970s to mid 1980s. She had an undeniably strong influence upon Cave and his work, often cited as his "muse". Despite this, Cave and Lane recorded together on only a few occasions. Their most notable collaborations include Lane's 'cameo' verse on Cave's Bob Dylan cover "Death Is Not The End" from the album ''Murder Ballads'', and a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin song "Je t'aime/ I love you nor do I". Lane co-wrote the lyrics to the title track for Cave's 1984 LP, ''From Her to Eternity'', as well as the lyrics of the song "Stranger Than Kindness" from ''Your Funeral, My Trial''. Cave, Lydia Lunch and Lane wrote a comic book together, entitled AS-FIX-E-8, in the style of the old "Pussy Galore"/Russ Meyer movies.

After completing his debut novel ''And the Ass Saw the Angel'', Cave left West Berlin shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall and moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where he met Brazilian journalist Viviane Carneiro. The two have a son, Luke (b. 10 May 1991), but never married. Cave's son Jethro (born in 1991) lives with his mother, Beau Lazenby, in Australia and has a career in modelling.

Cave briefly dated PJ Harvey during the mid 1990s. The love affair and their break-up inspired him to write the album ''The Boatman's Call''.

He met British model Susie Bick in 1997. A cover star of the Damned's 1985 album ''Phantasmagoria'' and a Vivienne Westwood model, she gave up her job when they married in summer 1999. They have twin sons, Arthur and Earl (born in 2000). Cave and Bick lived for some time on a houseboat near Hove. They currently live in Brighton and Hove, England.

Cave performed "Into My Arms" at the televised funeral of Michael Hutchence, but refused to play in front of the cameras. Cave is godfather of Hutchence's only child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

In the past, Cave identified as a Christian. In his recorded lectures on music and songwriting, he has claimed that any true love song is a song for God and has ascribed the mellowing of his music to a shift in focus from the Old to the New Testaments. He does not belong to a particular denomination and has distanced himself from "religion as being an American thing, in which the name of God has been hijacked". In an interview in ''The Guardian'' in 2009, he said: "Do I personally believe in a personal God? No." He elaborated in a recent ''Los Angeles Times'' article: "I'm not religious, and I'm not a Christian, but I do reserve the right to believe in the possibility of a god. It's kind of defending the indefensible, though; I'm critical of what religions are becoming, the more destructive they're becoming. But I think as an artist, particularly, it's a necessary part of what I do, that there is some divine element going on within my songs.".

Discography

Soundtracks/scores

''Ghosts... of the Civil Dead'', soundtrack (1988) – composed with Mick Harvey & Blixa Bargeld

''And the Ass Saw the Angel'', readings of the novel (1988), plus theatre score (1993) – text by Cave, music composed by Harvey and Ed Clayton-Jones

''To Have and to Hold'', soundtrack (1996) – composed with Harvey & Bargeld

''Woyzeck'', theatre score (2005) – composed with Warren Ellis

''The Proposition'', soundtrack (2005) – composed with Ellis

''Metamorphosis'', theatre score (2006) – composed with Ellis

''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', soundtrack (2007) – composed with Ellis

''The English Surgeon'', soundtrack (2007) – composed with Ellis ''The Death of Bunny Munro'', soundtrack (2009) – composed with Ellis ''The Road'', soundtrack (2009) – composed with Ellis ''The Wettest County in the World'' (2012)

Contributions/appearances

Die Haut and Nick Cave: ''Burnin' the Ice'' (1982), features Nick Cave's vocals on 4 songs.

''September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill'' produced by Hal Willner. Cave contributes a cover version of "Mack the Knife".

''Nick Cave i Przyjaciele'' (''Nick Cave and Friends'') (2001). A tribute album by Polish musicians. Cave appears on tracks 1 & 10.

''I Am Sam'' (2002). Cave contributes a cover version of The Beatles' "Let It Be", which was later issued as a single with a cover version of "Here Comes the Sun" as the B-side.

"Kiss of Love" (duet with Sam Brown) from Jools Holland's 2003 album ''Small World Big Band Friends 3 – Jack O The Green''.

''Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys'' (2006). Cave contributes the tracks "Fire Down Below" and "Pinery Boy".

"Bad Cover Version" single by Pulp. Cave contributes a cover version of Pulp's "Disco 2000".

"Helpless" single by Neil Young. He did this in 1989 for the Neil Young tribute album ''The Bridge''.

''American IV: The Man Comes Around'' (2003) Duet with Johnny Cash on "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".

''Batman Forever'' soundtrack — contributes the track "There is a Light"

Ute Lemper's ''Punishing Kiss''. Cave co-wrote (with Bruno Pisek) "Little Water Song".

"''To Be By Your Side''" – from the OST for French documentary film ''Le Peuple Migrateur'' (2001).

Cave performs "I'm Your Man" and "Suzanne" in the documentary/concert film ''Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man'' (2005).

Seasick Steve's song "Just Like A King" includes Cave's vocals

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds appear on the Martin Scorsese series ''The Blues'' singing J. B. Lenoir's "I Feel So Good"

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song "Up Jumped The Devil" was featured in the video game ''Alan Wake''. (2010)

''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1'' (2010). Cave contributed the song "O Children".

Nick Cave joins Neko Case to cover the The Zombies song ''She's Not There'' for HBO show True Blood. (2011)

Spoken-word lectures

''The Secret Life Of The Love Song & The Flesh Made Word: Two Lectures'' (2000).

Books by Nick Cave

''King Ink''. Los Angeles: 13 February 1961, 1988. ISBN 1-880985-08-X.

''And the Ass Saw the Angel'' Los Angeles: 13 February 1961, 1989. ISBN 1-880985-72-1.

''King Ink II''. Los Angeles: 13 February 1961, 1997. ISBN 2-84261-053-9.

Introduction to ''The Pocket Canons Bible Series: Authorised King James Version: The Gospel According to Mark''. Edinburgh: Canongate, 1998. ISBN 0-86241-796-1.

''Complete Lyrics''. London: Penguin, 2001. ISBN 0-14-100515-7.

* ''The Complete Lyrics'' (revised and updated). London: Penguin, 2007. ISBN 978-0-141-02714-2.

''The Death of Bunny Munro''. 2009

Awards and honours

2011 MOJO Awards: Song of the Year for "Heathen Child" by Grinderman

2010 made an honorary Doctor of Laws, by University of Dundee. 2008 ARIA Awards Male Artist of the Year (''Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'').

2008 MOJO Awards: Best Album of 2008 (''Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!'').

2008 Awarded an Honorary degree as Doctor of Laws, by Monash University. 2007 ARIA Awards ARIA Hall of Fame inductee.

2006 Venice Film Festival: Gucci Award (for the script to ''The Proposition'').

2005 Q magazine: Q Classic Songwriter Award.

2005 AFI Awards: Best Original Music Score with Warren Ellis (''The Proposition'').

2005 Inside Film Awards: Best Music (''The Proposition'').

2005 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards: Best Musical Score (''The Proposition'').

2004 MOJO Awards: Best Album of 2004 (''Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus'').

2001 ARIA Awards: Best Male Artist (''No More Shall We Part''). 2001 APRA Music Awards: "The Ship Song" voted in the Top 30 Best Australian Songs of the previous 75 years.

1997 APRA Music Awards: Songwriter of the year.

1997 ARIA Awards: Best Original Soundtrack (''To Have and to Hold''). 1996 ARIA Awards: Song of the Year & Single of the Year & Best Pop Release ("Where the Wild Roses Grow").

1996 MTV Europe Music Awards: Nick Cave formally requested that his nomination for "Best Male Artist" be withdrawn as he was not comfortable with the "competitive nature" of such awards.

1990 ''Time Out'' Magazine: Book Of The Year (''And the Ass Saw the Angel'').

Further reading

''Bad Seed: A Biography of Nick Cave'', Ian Johnston (1997) ISBN 0-316-90833-9

''The Life and Music of Nick Cave: An Illustrated Biography'', Maximilian Dax & Johannes Beck (1999) ISBN 3-931126-27-7

Liner notes to the CDs ''Original Seeds: Songs that inspired Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds'', Kim Beissel (1998 & 2004), Rubber Records

''Kicking Against the Pricks: An Armchair Guide to Nick Cave'', Amy Hanson (2005), ISBN 1-900924-96-X

''Nick Cave Stories'', Janine Barrand (2007)

''Cultural Seeds: Essays on the Work of Nick Cave'', eds. Karen Welberry and Tanya Dalziell (2009) ISBN 0754663957

''Nick Cave Sinner Saint: The True Confessions'', ed. Mat Snow (2011) ISBN 978-0-85965-448-7

References

External links

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds official website

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds official merchandise

Category:1957 births Category:Alternative rock musicians Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian novelists Category:Australian songwriters Category:People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Category:Gothic rock musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Wangaratta Category:Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds members Category:People from Brighton and Hove (district) Category:Post-punk musicians

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Coordinates	21°58′30″N96°5′0″N
Name	Jesse James
Birth name	Jesse Woodson James
Birth date	September 05, 1847
Birth place	Kearney, Missouri, U.S.
Death date	April 03, 1882
Death place	St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Known for	Robbery
Nationality	American
Spouse	Zerelda Mimms
Children	Jesse E. James, Mary James Barr
Parents	Robert S. James, Zerelda Cole James }}

Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary figure of the Wild West after his death. Some recent scholars place him in the context of regional insurgencies of ex-Confederates following the American Civil War rather than a manifestation of frontier lawlessness or alleged economic justice.

Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. They were accused of participating in atrocities committed against Union soldiers. After the war, as members of one gang or another, they robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains. Despite popular portrayals of James as a kind of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, there is no evidence that he and his gang used their robbery gains for anyone but themselves.

The James brothers were most active with their gang from about 1866 until 1876, when their attempted robbery of a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, resulted in the capture or deaths of several members. They continued in crime for several years, recruiting new members, but were under increasing pressure from law enforcement. On April 3, 1882, Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford, who was a member of the gang living in the James house and who was hoping to collect a state reward on James' head.

Early life

Jesse Woodson James was born in Clay County, Missouri, near the site of present day Kearney, on September 5, 1847. Jesse James had two full siblings: his older brother, Alexander Franklin "Frank", and a younger sister, Susan Lavenia James. Across a creek and up a hill from the house on the right was the home of Daniel Askew, where Askew was killed on April 12, 1875. Askew was suspected of cooperating with the Pinkertons in the January 1875 arson of the house (in a room on the left). James's original grave was on the property but he was later moved to a cemetery in Kearney. The original footstone is still outside, although the family has replaced the headstone.

His father, Robert S. James was a commercial hemp farmer and Baptist minister in Kentucky, who migrated to Bradford, Missouri after marriage and helped found William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He was prosperous, acquiring six slaves and more than of farmland. Robert James travelled to California during the Gold Rush to minister to those searching for gold and died there when Jesse was three years old.

After the death of Robert James, his widow Zerelda remarried twice, first to Benjamin Simms and then in 1855 to Dr. Reuben Samuel, who moved into the James' home. Jesse's mother and Reuben Samuel had four children together: Sarah Louisa, John Thomas, Fannie Quantrell, and Archie Peyton Samuel. Zerelda and Reuben Samuel acquired a total of seven slaves, who served mainly as farmhands in tobacco cultivation in Missouri.

Historical context

The approach of the American Civil War overshadowed the James-Samuel household. Missouri was a border state, sharing characteristics of both North and South, but 75% of the population was from the South or other border states. Clay County was in a region of Missouri later dubbed "Little Dixie," as it was a center of migration from the Upper South. Farmers raised the same crops and livestock as in the areas they migrated from. They brought slaves with them and purchased more according to need. The county had more slaveholders, who held more slaves, than in other regions. Aside from slavery, the culture of Little Dixie was Southern in other ways as well. This influenced how the population acted during and for a period of time after the American Civil War. In Missouri as a whole, slaves accounted for only 10 percent of the population, but in Clay County they constituted 25 percent.

After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, Clay County became the scene of great turmoil, as the question of whether slavery would be expanded into the neighboring Kansas Territory came to dominate public life. Numerous people from Missouri migrated to Kansas to try to influence its future. Much of the tension that led up to the Civil War centered on the violence that erupted in Kansas between pro- and anti-slavery militias.

American Civil War

The Civil War may have shaped the life of Jesse James. After a series of campaigns and battles between conventional armies in 1861, guerrilla warfare gripped the state, waged between secessionist "bushwhackers" and Union forces which largely consisted of local militia organizations ("jayhawkers"). A bitter conflict ensued, bringing an escalating cycle of atrocities by both sides. Guerrillas murdered civilian Unionists, executed prisoners and scalped the dead. Union forces enforced martial law with raids on homes, arrests of civilians, summary executions and banishment of Confederate sympathizers from the state.

The James-Samuel family took the Confederate side at the outset of the war. Frank James joined a local company recruited for the secessionist Drew Lobbs Army, and fought at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, though he fell ill and returned home soon afterward. In 1863, he was identified as a member of a guerrilla squad that operated in Clay County. In May of that year, a Union militia company raided the James-Samuel farm, looking for Frank's group. They tortured Reuben Samuel by briefly hanging him from a tree. According to legend, they lashed young Jesse.

Quantrill's Raiders

Frank eluded capture and was believed to have joined the guerrilla organization led by William C. Quantrill. It is thought that he took part in the notorious massacre of some 200 men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas, a center of abolitionists.

Frank James followed Quantrill to Texas over the winter of 1863–64. In the spring he returned in a squad commanded by Fletch Taylor. After they arrived in Clay County, 16-year-old Jesse James joined his brother in Taylor's group.

In the summer of 1864, Taylor was severely wounded, losing his right arm to a shotgun blast. The James brothers joined the bushwhacker group led by Bloody Bill Anderson. Jesse suffered a serious wound to the chest that summer. The Clay County provost marshal reported that both Frank and Jesse James took part in the Centralia Massacre in September, in which guerrillas killed or wounded some 22 unarmed Union troops; the guerrillas scalped and dismembered some of the dead. The guerrillas ambushed and defeated a pursuing regiment of Major A.V.E. Johnson's Union troops, killing all who tried to surrender (more than 100). Frank later identified Jesse as a member of the band who had fatally shot Major Johnson. As a result of the James brothers' activities, the Union military authorities made their family leave Clay County. Though ordered to move South beyond Union lines, instead they moved across the nearby state border into Nebraska.

After Anderson was killed in an ambush in October, the James brothers separated. Frank followed Quantrill into Kentucky; Jesse went to Texas under the command of Archie Clement, one of Anderson's lieutenants. He is known to have returned to Missouri in the spring. Jesse was shot while trying to surrender when they ran into a Union cavalry patrol near Lexington, Missouri. Jesse James suffered the second of two life-threatening chest wounds.

After the Civil War

At the end of the Civil War, Missouri was in shambles. The conflict split the population into three bitterly opposed factions: anti-slavery Unionists, identified with the Republican Party; the segregationist conservative Unionists, identified with the Democratic Party; and pro-slavery, ex-Confederate secessionists, many of whom were also allied with the Democrats, especially the southern part of the party. The Republican Reconstruction administration passed a new state constitution that freed Missouri's slaves. It temporarily excluded former Confederates from voting, serving on juries, becoming corporate officers, or preaching from church pulpits. The atmosphere was volatile, with widespread clashes between individuals, and between armed gangs of veterans from both sides of the war.

Jesse recovered from his chest wound at his uncle's Missouri boardinghouse, where he was tended to by his first cousin, Zerelda "Zee" Mimms, named after Jesse's mother. Jesse and his cousin began a nine-year courtship, culminating in marriage. Meanwhile, his old commander Archie Clement kept his bushwhacker gang together and began to harass Republican authorities.

These men were the likely culprits in the first daylight armed bank robbery in the United States during peacetime, the robbery of the Clay County Savings Association in the town of Liberty, Missouri, on February 13, 1866. This bank was owned by Republican former militia officers who had recently conducted the first Republican Party rally in Clay County's history. One innocent bystander, a student of William Jewell College (which James's father had helped to found), was shot dead on the street during the gang's escape. It remains unclear whether Jesse and Frank took part.

After their later robberies took place and they became legends, there were those who credited them with being the leaders of the Clay County robbery. It has been argued in rebuttal that James was at the time still bedridden with his wound. No concrete evidence has surfaced to connect either brother to the crime, or to rule them out. On June 13, 1866 in Jackson County, Missouri two jailed members of Quantril's gang were demanded to be freed by a gang and the Jailor killed it is believed the James Brothers were involved.

This was a time of increasing local violence; Governor Fletcher had recently ordered a company of militia into Johnson County to suppress guerrilla activity. Archie Clement continued his career of crime and harassment of the Republican government, to the extent of occupying the town of Lexington, Missouri, on election day in 1866. Shortly afterward, the state militia shot Clement dead, an event James wrote about with bitterness a decade later.

The survivors of Clement's gang continued to conduct bank robberies over the next two years, though their numbers dwindled through arrests, gunfights, and lynchings. While they later tried to justify robbing the banks, these were small, local banks with local capital, not part of the national system that was an object of popular discontent in the 1860s and 1870s. On May 23, 1867, for example, they robbed a bank in Richmond, Missouri, in which they killed the mayor and two others. It remains uncertain whether either of the James brothers took part, although an eyewitness who knew the brothers told a newspaper seven years later "positively and emphatically that he recognized Jesse and Frank James ... among the robbers." In 1868, Frank and Jesse James allegedly joined Cole Younger in robbing a bank at Russellville, Kentucky.

Jesse James did not become famous, however, until December 7, 1869, when he and (most likely) Frank robbed the Daviess County Savings Association in Gallatin, Missouri. The robbery netted little money, but it appears that Jesse shot and killed the cashier, Captain John Sheets, mistakenly believing him to be Samuel P. Cox, the militia officer who had killed "Bloody Bill" Anderson during the Civil War. James's self-proclaimed attempt at revenge, and the daring escape he and Frank made through the middle of a posse shortly afterward, put his name in the newspapers for the first time. An 1882 history of Daviess County said, "The history of Daviess County has no blacker crime in its pages than the murder of John W. Sheets."

The 1869 robbery marked the emergence of Jesse James as the most famous of the former guerrillas and the first time he was publicly labeled an "outlaw," as Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden set a reward for his capture. This was the beginning of an alliance between James and John Newman Edwards, editor and founder of the ''Kansas City Times''. Edwards, a former Confederate cavalryman, was campaigning to return former secessionists to power in Missouri. Six months after the Gallatin robbery, Edwards published the first of many letters from Jesse James to the republic, asserting his innocence. Over time, the letters gradually became more political in tone, denouncing the Republicans and voicing James' pride in his Confederate loyalties. Together with Edwards's admiring editorials, the letters turned James into a symbol of Confederate defiance of Reconstruction. Jesse James's initiative in creating his rising public profile is debated by historians and biographers, though the tense politics certainly surrounded his outlaw career and enhanced his notoriety.

Meanwhile, the James brothers joined with Cole Younger and his brothers John, Jim, and Bob as well as Clell Miller and other former Confederates to form what came to be known as the James-Younger Gang. With Jesse James as the public face of the gang (though with operational leadership likely shared among the group), the gang carried out a string of robberies from Iowa to Texas, and from Kansas to West Virginia. They robbed banks, stagecoaches, and a fair in Kansas City, often in front of large crowds, even hamming it up for the bystanders.

On July 21, 1873, they turned to train robbery, derailing the Rock Island train in Adair, Iowa and stealing approximately $3,000 ($51,000 in 2007). For this, they wore Ku Klux Klan masks, deliberately taking on a potent symbol years after the Klan had been suppressed in the South by President Grant's use of the Force Acts. Former rebels attacked the railroads as symbols of threatening centralization.

The James' gang's later train robberies had a lighter touch. In only two train hold-ups did they rob passengers, because James typically limited himself to the express safe in the baggage car. Such techniques reinforced the Robin Hood image that Edwards created in his newspapers, but the James gang never shared any of the robbery money outside their circle.

Pinkertons

The Adams Express Company turned to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1874 to stop the James-Younger gang. The Chicago-based agency worked primarily against urban professional criminals, as well as providing industrial security, such as strike breaking. Because the gang received support by many former Confederate soldiers in Missouri, they eluded the Pinkertons. Joseph Whicher, an agent dispatched to infiltrate Zerelda Samuel's farm, shortly afterwards was found killed. Two others, Louis J. Lull and John Boyle, were sent after the Youngers; Lull was killed by two of the Youngers in a roadside gunfight on March 17, 1874. Before he died, Lull fatally shot John Younger. A deputy sheriff named Edwin Daniels was also killed in the skirmish.

Allan Pinkerton, the agency's founder and leader, took on the case as a personal vendetta. He began to work with former Unionists who lived near the James family farm. On the night of January 25, 1875, he staged a raid on the homestead. Detectives threw an incendiary device into the house; it exploded, killing James's young half-brother Archie (named for Archie Clement) and blowing off one of the arms of mother Zerelda Samuel. Afterward, Pinkerton denied that the raid's intent was arson, but biographer Ted Yeatman located a letter by Pinkerton in the Library of Congress in which Pinkerton declared his intention to "burn the house down."

The raid on the family home outraged many, and did more than all of Edwards's columns to create sympathy for Jesse James. The Missouri state legislature only narrowly defeated a bill that praised the James and Younger brothers and offered them amnesty. Allowed to vote and hold office again, former Confederates voted to limit reward offers that the governor could make for fugitives. This extended a measure of protection over the James-Younger gang. (Only Frank and Jesse James previously had been singled out for rewards larger than the new limit.)

Downfall of the gang

Jesse and his cousin Zee married on April 24, 1874, and had two children who survived to adulthood: Jesse Edward James (b. 1875) and Mary Susan James (b. 1879). Twins Gould and Montgomery James (b. 1878) died in infancy. Jesse, Jr. became a lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri and Los Angeles, California.

On September 7, 1876, the James-Younger gang attempted a raid on the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. After this robbery and a manhunt, only Frank and Jesse James were left alive and uncaptured. Cole and Bob Younger later stated that they selected the bank because they believed it was associated with the Republican politician Adelbert Ames, the governor of Mississippi during Reconstruction, and Union general Benjamin Butler, Ames' father-in-law and the Union commander of occupied New Orleans. Ames was a stockholder in the bank, but Butler had no direct connection to it.

To carry out the robbery, the gang divided into two groups. Three men entered the bank, two guarded the door outside, and three remained near a bridge across an adjacent square. The robbers inside the bank were thwarted when acting cashier Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the safe, falsely claiming that it was secured by a time lock even as they held a bowie knife to his throat and cracked his skull with a pistol butt. Assistant cashier Alonzo Enos Bunker was wounded in the shoulder as he fled out the back door of the bank.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Northfield grew suspicious of the men guarding the door and raised the alarm. The five bandits outside fired in the air to clear the streets, which drove the townspeople to take cover and fire back from protected positions. Two bandits were shot dead and the rest were wounded in the barrage. Inside, the outlaws turned to flee. As they left, one shot the unarmed cashier Heywood in the head. Historians have speculated about the identity of the shooter but have not reached consensus on his identity.

The gang barely escaped Northfield, leaving two dead companions behind. They killed two innocent victims, Heywood, and Nicholas Gustafson, a Swedish immigrant from the Millersburg community west of Northfield. A massive manhunt ensued. It is believed that the gang burned 14 Rice County mills shortly after the robbery. The James brothers eventually split from the others and escaped to Missouri. The militia soon discovered the Youngers and one other bandit, Charlie Pitts. In a gunfight, Pitts died and the Youngers were taken prisoner. Except for Frank and Jesse James, the James-Younger Gang was destroyed.

Later in 1876, Jesse and Frank James surfaced in the Nashville, Tennessee area, where they went by the names of Thomas Howard and B. J. Woodson, respectively. Frank seemed to settle down, but Jesse remained restless. He recruited a new gang in 1879 and returned to crime, holding up a train at Glendale, Missouri (now part of Independence, Missouri), on October 8, 1879. The robbery was the first of a spree of crimes, including the holdup of the federal paymaster of a canal project in Killen, Alabama, and two more train robberies. But the new gang did not consist of battle-hardened guerrillas; they soon turned against each other or were captured, while James grew paranoid, killing one gang member and frightening away another.

By 1881, with authorities growing suspicious, the brothers returned to Missouri where they felt safer. In December, Jesse rented a house in Saint Joseph, Missouri, not far from where he had been born and raised. Frank, however, decided to move to safer territory, heading east to Virginia.

Death

With his gang nearly annihilated, James trusted only the Ford brothers, Charley and Robert. Although Charley had been out on raids with James, Bob was an eager new recruit. For protection, James asked the Ford brothers to move in with him and his family. James had often stayed with their sister Martha Bolton and, according to rumor, he was "smitten" with her. James did not know that Bob Ford had been conducting secret negotiations with Thomas T. Crittenden, the Missouri governor, to bring in the famous outlaw. Crittenden had made capture of the James brothers his top priority; in his inaugural address he declared that no political motives could be allowed to keep them from justice. Barred by law from offering a sufficiently large reward, he had turned to the railroad and express corporations to put up a $5,000 bounty for each of them.

On April 3, 1882, after eating breakfast, the Fords and James prepared to depart for another robbery. They went in and out of the house to ready the horses. As it was an unusually hot day, James removed his coat, then declared that he should remove his firearms as well, lest he look suspicious. Noticing a dusty picture on the wall, he stood on a chair to clean it. Bob Ford shot James in the back of the head. James' two previous bullet wounds and partially missing middle finger served to positively identify the body.

The murder of Jesse James became a national sensation. The Fords made no attempt to hide their role. Indeed, Robert Ford wired the governor to claim his reward. Crowds pressed into the little house in St. Joseph to see the dead bandit, even while the Ford brothers surrendered to the authorities but they were dismayed to find that they were charged with first degree murder. In the course of a single day, the Ford brothers were indicted, pleaded guilty, were sentenced to death by hanging, and two hours later were granted a full pardon by Governor Crittenden.

The governor's quick pardon suggested that he knew the brothers intended to kill James rather than capture him. Like many who knew James, the Ford brothers never believed it was practical to try to take him into custody. The implication that the chief executive of Missouri conspired to kill a private citizen startled the public and added to James' notoriety.

After receiving a small portion of the reward, the Fords fled Missouri. Law enforcement officials active in the plan also shared the bounty. Later the Ford brothers starred in a touring stage show in which they reenacted the shooting.

Suffering from tuberculosis (then incurable) and a morphine addiction, Charley Ford committed suicide on May 6, 1884, in Richmond, Missouri. Bob Ford operated a tent saloon in Creede, Colorado. On June 8, 1892, a man named Edward O'Kelley, went to Creede, loaded a double barrel shotgun, entered Ford's saloon and said "Hello, Bob" before shooting Bob Ford in the throat, killing him instantly. O'Kelley was sentenced to life in prison. O'Kelley's sentence was subsequently commuted because of a 7,000 signature petition in favor of his release. The governor pardoned him on October 3, 1902.

James' mother Zerelda Samuel wrote the following epitaph for him: ''In Loving Memory of my Beloved Son, Murdered by a Traitor and Coward Whose Name is not Worthy to Appear Here.'' James's widow Zee died alone and in poverty.

Rumors of survival

Rumors of Jesse James's survival proliferated almost as soon as the newspapers announced his death. Some said that Robert Ford killed someone other than James, in an elaborate plot to allow him to escape justice. These tales have received little credence, then or later. None of James's biographers has accepted them as plausible. The body buried in Kearney, Missouri, as Jesse James's was exhumed in 1995 and subjected to mitochondrial DNA typing. The report, prepared by Anne C. Stone, Ph.D., James E. Starrs, L.L.M., and Mark Stoneking, Ph.D., stated the mtDNA recovered from the remains was consistent with the mtDNA of one of James's relatives in the female line. This theme resurfaced in a 2009 documentary, ''Jesse James' Hidden Treasure'', which aired on the History Channel. The documentary was dismissed as pseudo-history and pseudo-science by historian Nancy Samuelson in a review she wrote for Winter, 2009-2010 edition of ''The James-Younger Gang Journal''.

One prominent claimant was J. Frank Dalton, who died August 15, 1951, in Granbury, Texas. Dalton was allegedly 101 years old at the time of his first public appearance, in May 1948. His story did not hold up to questioning from James' surviving relatives.

Legacy and controversies

James's turn to crime after the end of Reconstruction era helped cement his place in American life and memory as a simple but remarkably effective bandit. After 1873 he was covered by the national media as part of social banditry. During his lifetime, James was celebrated chiefly by former Confederates, to whom he appealed directly in his letters to the press. Displaced by Reconstruction, the antebellum political leadership mythologized the James Gang exploits. Frank Triplett wrote about James as a "progressive neo-aristocrat" with purity of race. Indeed, some historians credit James' myth as contributing to the rise of former Confederates to dominance in Missouri politics (in the 1880s, for example, both U.S. Senators from the state, Confederate military commander Francis Cockrell and Confederate Congressman George Graham Vest, were identified with the Confederate cause).

In the 1880s, after James' death, the James Gang became the subject of dime novels that represented the bandits as pre-industrial models of resistance. During the Populist and Progressive eras, James became a symbol as America's Robin Hood, standing up against corporations in defense of the small farmer, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor while there is no evidence that his robberies enriched anyone other than his gang and himself.

In portrayals of the 1950s, James was pictured as a psychologically troubled individual rather than a social rebel. Some filmmakers portrayed the former outlaw as a revenger, replacing "social with exclusively personal motives."

Jesse James remains a controversial symbol, one who can always be interpreted in various ways, according to cultural tensions and needs. Although some of the neo-Confederate movement regard him as a hero renewed cultural battles over the place of the Civil War in American history have replaced the long-standing interpretation of James as a Western frontier hero. Some point to his absolute commitment to slavery and his vow after the Civil War to shoot any black in Missouri not fulfilling the role of a slave.

While his "heroic outlaw" image is still commonly portrayed in films, as well as in songs and folklore, recent historians place him as a self-aware vigilante and terrorist who used local tensions to create his own myth among the widespread insurgent guerrillas and vigilantes following the American Civil War.

Museums

Museums and sites devoted to Jesse James:

James Farm in Kearney, Missouri: In 1974 Clay County, Missouri, bought it. The county operates the site as a house museum and historic site. Jesse James Home Museum: The house where Jesse James was killed in south St. Joseph was moved in 1939 to the Belt Highway on St. Joseph's east side to attract tourists. In 1977 it was moved to its current location, near Patee House, which was the headquarters of the Pony Express. The house is now owned and operated by the Pony Express Historical Association. First National Bank of Northfield: The Northfield Historical Society in Northfield, Minnesota, has restored the building that housed the First National Bank, the scene of the 1876 raid.

Heaton Bowman Funeral Home, 36th Street and Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, Missouri. The funeral home's predecessor conducted the original autopsy and funeral for Jesse James. A room in the back holds the log book and other documentation.

The Jesse James Tavern is in his father's birthplace in Asdee, County Kerry, Ireland, from where his father immigrated to the US in the 1840s as a young man. The parish priest, Canon William Ferris, says a solemn requiem mass for Jesse James every year on April 3.

Festivals

The Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield, Minnesota, is among the largest outdoor celebrations in the state and is held annually in September during the weekend after Labor Day, though it is is now documented and in dispute whether Jesse James was ever in Northfield because he was never indicted for his crimes. Thousands of visitors watch reenactments of the robbery, a championship rodeo, a carnival, performances of a 19th-century style melodrama musical, and a parade during the five-day event.

Jesse James' boyhood home in Kearney, Missouri, is a museum dedicated to the town's most famous resident. Each year a recreational fair, the Jesse James Festival, is held during the third weekend in September.

During the annual Labor Day weekend Victorian Festival at the 1866 Col. William H. Fulkerson estate Hazel Dell in Jersey County, Illinois, Jesse James' history is told in stories and by reenactments of stagecoach holdups. Over the three-day event, thousands of spectators learn of the documented James Gang's stopping point at Hazel Dell and of their connection with ex-Confederate Fulkerson.

Russellville, Kentucky, the site of the robbery of the Southern Bank in 1868, holds the Jesse James International Arts and Film Festival. The JJIAFF completed its second annual event in April 2008 and the third annual is planned for April 25, 2009. The festival has featured a bluegrass band from San Francisco and experimental bands from southern Kentucky as well as painters, sculptors, photographers, and comic artists. Children's activities are a mainstay of the festival. A highlight for adults is the film festival held at the Logan County Public Library in Russellville. Past entrants have included films from Norway and northwestern Kentucky, modern silent film projects, nature studies, and fan films.

In addition, the annual Tobacco and Heritage Festival in Russellville features a reenactment of the James-Younger Gang's robbery of the Southern Bank. Today used as a residence, the historic structure on South Main Street has been preserved by the town and county.

The small town of Oak Grove, Louisiana, also hosts a town-wide annual Jesse James Trade Days, usually in the early to mid fall. This is a reference to a short time James supposedly spent near this area.

Cultural depictions

Literature

The James brothers became a staple in dime novels of the era, peaking in the 1880s following Jesse's death. James has often been used as a fictional character in many Western novels, including some published while he was alive. For instance, in Willa Cather's ''My Antonia'', the narrator reads a book entitled 'Life of Jesse James' - probably a dime novel.

In Charles Portis's 1968 novel, ''True Grit'', the U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn describes fighting with Cole Younger and Frank James for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Long after his adventure with Mattie Ross, Cogburn ends his days in a traveling road show with the aged Cole Younger and Frank James.

During his travel to the "Wilde West," Oscar Wilde visited Jesse James' hometown in Missouri. Learning that James had been assassinated by his own gang member, "...an event that sent the town into mourning and scrambling to buy Jesse's artifacts," "romantic appeal of the social outcast" in his mind, Wilde wrote in one of his letters to home that: "Americans are certainly great hero-worshippers, and always take [their] heroes from the criminal classes."

Comics

In 1969, artist Morris and writer René Goscinny (co-creator of ''Asterix'') had Lucky Luke confronting Jesse James, his brother Frank, and Cole Younger. The adventure poked fun at the image of Jesse as a new Robin Hood. Although he passes himself off as such and does indeed steal from the rich (who are, logically, the only ones worth stealing from), he and his gang take turns being "poor," thus keeping the loot for themselves. Frank quotes from Shakespeare, and Younger is portrayed as a fun-loving joker, full of good humor. One critic has likened this version of the James brothers as "intellectuals bandits, who won't stop theorising their outlaw activities and hear themselves talk." In the end, the at-first-cowed people of a town fight back against the James gang and send them packing in tar and feathers.

Music

In his adaptation of the traditional song "Jesse James," Woody Guthrie magnified James's hero status. "Jesse James" was later covered by the Anglo-Irish band The Pogues on their 1985 album ''Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash'', and by Bruce Springsteen on his 2006 tribute to Pete Seeger, ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions''.

A somewhat different song titled "Jesse James," referring to Jesse's "wife to mourn for his life; three children, they were brave," and calling Robert Ford "the dirty little coward who shot Mr. Howard," was also the first track recorded by the "Stewart Years" version of the Kingston Trio at their initial recording session in 1961 (and included on that year's release ''Close-Up'').

Echoing the Confederate hero aspect, Hank Williams, Jr.'s 1983 Southern anthem "Whole Lot Of Hank" has the lyrics "Frank and Jesse James knowed how to rob them trains, they always took it from the rich and gave it to the poor, they might have had a bad name but they sure had a heart of gold."

Rock band James Gang was named after Jesse James's gang. Their final album, released in 1976, was titled ''Jesse Come Home''.

Warren Zevon's 1976 self-titled album ''Warren Zevon'' includes the song "Frank and Jesse James," a romantic tribute to the James Gang's exploits, expressing much sympathy with their "cause." Its lyrics encapsulate the many legends that grew up around the life and death of Jesse James. The album contains a second reference to Jesse James in the song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" with the lyric "Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood, I ain't naming names. She really worked me over good, she was just like Jesse James." Linda Ronstadt covered the song a year later with slightly altered lyrics.

In her album ''Heart of Stone'' (1989), Cher included a song titled "Just Like Jesse James," written by Diane Warren. This single, which was released in 1990, achieved high positions in the charts and sold 1,500,000 copies worldwide.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's album ''Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy'' features the song "Jesse James," ostensibly recorded on a wire recorder.

Jon Chandler has also written a song about Jesse and Frank James entitled "He Was No Hero," written from the perspective of Joe Hayward's widow cursing Bob Ford for cheating her out of killing Jesse James.

Around 1980 a concept album titled ''The Legend of Jesse James'' was released. It was written by Paul Kennerley and starred Levon Helm (The Band) as Jesse James, Johnny Cash as Frank James, Emmylou Harris as Zee James, Charlie Daniels as Cole Younger, and Albert Lee as Jim Younger. There are also appearances by Rodney Crowell, Jody Payne, and Roseanne Cash. The album highlights Jesse's life from 1863 to his death in 1882. In 1999 a double CD was released containing ''The Legend Of Jesse James'' and ''White Mansions,'' another concept album by Kennerley about life in the Confederate States of America between 1861-1865.

Films

There have been numerous portrayals of Jesse James in film and television, including two wherein Jesse James, Jr. depicts his father. In many of the films, James is portrayed as a Robin Hood-like character.

1921: ''Jesse James Under the Black Flag'', played by Jesse James, Jr.

1921: ''Jesse James as the Outlaw'', played by Jesse James, Jr.

1927: ''Jesse James'', played by Fred Thomson

1939: ''Jesse James'', played by Tyrone Power with Henry Fonda as Frank James and John Carradine as Bob Ford

1939: ''Days of Jesse James'', played by Don 'Red' Barry

1941: ''Jesse James at Bay'', played by Roy Rogers

1947: ''Jesse James Rides Again'', played by Clayton Moore

1949: ''I Shot Jesse James'', played by Reed Hadley

1950: ''Kansas Raiders'', played by Audie Murphy

1951: ''The Great Missouri Raid'', played by Macdonald Carey

1954: ''Jesse James Women'' played by Don 'Red' Barry

1957: ''True Story of Jesse James'', played by Robert Wagner

1959: ''Alias Jesse James'', played by Wendell Corey in a comedy starring Bob Hope

1960: ''Young Jesse James'', played by Ray Stricklyn

1965: ''The Legend of Jesse James'', TV series starred by Allen Case

1966: ''Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter'', played by John Lupton

1969: ''A Time for Dying'', played by Audie Murphy

1972: ''The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid'', played by Robert Duvall

1980: ''The Long Riders'', played by James Keach

1986: ''The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James'', played by Kris Kristofferson with Johnny Cash as Frank James and Willie Nelson as Gen. Jo Shelby

1994: ''Frank and Jesse'', played by Rob Lowe

1999: ''Purgatory'', played by J.D. Souther

2001: ''American Outlaws'', played by Colin Farrell

2005: ''Just like Jesse James'' is the title of a movie that appears in Wim Wenders' ''Don't Come Knocking'', in which Sam Shepard plays an aging western movie star whose first success was with that movie.

2005: ''Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist'' (Discovery HD), played by Daniel Lennox

2007: ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', played by Brad Pitt, with Casey Affleck as Bob Ford

Television

The actor Lee Van Cleef played Jesse James in a 1954 episode of Jim Davis's syndicated television series, ''Stories of the Century'', the first western series to win an Emmy Award.

The ABC series ''The Legend of Jesse James'' aired during the 1965-1966 television season, with Christopher Jones as Jesse, Allen Case as Frank James, Ann Doran as Zerelda Cole James Samuel, Robert J. Wilke as Marshal Sam Corbett, and John Milford as Cole Younger.

In the episode of ''Little House on the Prairie'' titled "The Aftermath" (aired November 7, 1977), Jesse (Dennis Rucker) and Frank James (John Bennett Perry) took refuge in Walnut Grove after a failed robbery attempt.

In the American Western series ''The Young Riders'' (1989–1992), Jesse James is portrayed by the late actor Christopher Pettiet. He appeared in 17 episodes.

An episode of ''Deadliest Warrior'' on "Spike TV" features the Jesse James gang vs. the Al Capone gang. The main weapons used by Jesse James was the Colt .45, the Pistol Whip, the Winchester rifle, and the Bowie Knife. The Jesse James gang came out victorious in the simulated match.

In Episode 33 of ''Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction'' in a segment titled "Mysterious Strangers," a story is told about two men in 1870 who take refuge on a rainy night in an old widow's house. While there they find out that she is about to lose her home to foreclosure. The strangers disappear in the night, leaving her $900 to give to the banker, only to rob the banker of their own money after he retrieved it from the woman the next morning. The strangers, at the end of the story, turn out to be Frank and Jesse James. ''Beyond Belief'' purports that the story is documented and true.

References

Bibliography

Fellman, Michael. ''Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri onto the American Civil War''. Oxford University Press, 1990. ISBN 0195064712.

Settle, William A. ''Jesse James Was His Name, or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri''. University of Nebraska Press, 1977. ISBN 0803258607.

Stiles, T. J. ''Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War''. Knopf Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0375405836.

Yeatman, Ted P. ''Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend''. Cumberland House Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1581823258.

Further reading

Dyer, Robert. "Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri,"University of Missouri Press, 1994

Hobsbawm, Eric J. ''Bandits'', Pantheon, 1981

Koblas, John J. ''Faithful Unto Death'', Northfield Historical Society Press, 2001

Thelen, David. ''Paths of Resistance: Tradition and Dignity in Industrializing Missouri'', Oxford University Press, 1986

Wellman, Paul I. ''A Dynasty of Western Outlaws''. Doubleday, 1961; 1986.

White, Richard. "Outlaw Gangs of the Middle Border: American Social Bandits," ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 12, no. 4 (October 1981)

External links

Primary sources and essays by Jesse James biographer T. J. Stiles

Official website for the Family of Jesse James

Death pics Jesse James

Death of Jesse James with pictures from the National Archives and Library of Congress

A 1901 newspaper interview with the Younger brothers

Category:1847 births Category:1882 deaths Category:People from Kearney, Missouri Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:Bushwhackers Category:James-Younger Gang Category:Outlaws of the American Old West Category:1869 crimes Category:1882 crimes Category:American bank robbers Category:American murder victims Category:Missouri State Guard Category:People murdered in Missouri Category:Deaths by firearm in Missouri Category:American folklore Category:People of the American Old West

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Coordinates	21°58′30″N96°5′0″N
name	Jennifer Lopez
background	solo_singer
birth name	Jennifer Lynn Lopez
alias	J.Lo
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| genre = | occupation = Actress, businesswoman, dancer, recording artist | years_active = 1986, 1991–present | label = Epic, Island, Work | website = }} Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), often known by her moniker J.Lo, is an American actress, businesswoman, dancer and recording artist. She began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program ''In Living Color''. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller ''Money Train''. Her first leading role was in the biographical film ''Selena'' (1997), in which she earned an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress. She earned her second ALMA Award for her performance in ''Out of Sight'' (1998). She has since starred in various films, including ''The Cell'' (2000), ''The Wedding Planner'' (2001), ''Maid in Manhattan'' (2002), ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004), ''Monster-in-Law'' (2005), and ''The Back-up Plan'' (2010).

Lopez came to prominence within the music industry following the release of her debut studio album ''On the 6'' (1999), which spawned the number one hit single "If You Had My Love". Her second studio album, ''J.Lo'' (2001), sold eight million copies worldwide; it was number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 the same week her film ''The Wedding Planner'' led the Box Office. ''J to tha L–O! The Remixes'' (2002) became her second consecutive album to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. Her third and fourth studio albums – ''This Is Me... Then'' and ''Rebirth'' – peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 2007 she released two albums: her first full Spanish-language album, ''Como ama una Mujer'', and her fifth English studio album, ''Brave''. Lopez returned to music and released her seventh studio album, titled ''Love?'', on April 19, 2011, which produced her most successful single to date, "On the Floor". Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements, including two Grammy Award nominations; two Latin Grammy Award nominations; three American Music Awards, amongst six nominations. She has amassed estimated sales of over 55 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' ranked her as the 27th Artist of the 2000s decade. In 2010, Lopez became a member of the judging panel for the American reality television competition ''American Idol''. Lopez has been selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012 for the "Recording" category.

She led ''People en Español''s list of "100 Most Influential Hispanics" in February 2007. That year, Lopez made the ''Forbes'' magazine's list of "The 20 Richest Women In Entertainment," ranking ninth. She has parlayed her media fame into a fashion line and various perfumes with her celebrity endorsement. A fashion icon, several of her dresses have received considerable media attention, most notably the Jungle green Versace dress which she wore at the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2000—voted the fifth most iconic dress of all time. Outside of her work in the entertainment industry, Lopez advocates for human rights and vaccinations, and is a supporter of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. In 2011 she was named the most "Beautiful Person" by ''People'' magazine in its annual issue. As of 2011, her wealth is estimated to be $150 million.

Early life and career beginnings

Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in The Bronx, New York, and was raised on Blackrock Avenue in the borough's Castle Hill neighborhood. She is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe (née Rodríguez), a kindergarten teacher, and David Lopez, a computer specialist, both born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Lopez was raised as a Roman Catholic. She has two siblings, Lynda and Leslie. Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at the all-girls Preston High School in the Bronx. She financed singing and dancing lessons for herself from the age of nineteen. After attending Baruch College for one semester, Lopez divided her time between working as a notary public in a legal office, dance classes, and dance performances in Manhattan night clubs. She had a small part in the 1987 film ''My Little Girl'', at the age of sixteen. After months of auditioning for dance roles, Lopez was selected as a dancer for various rap music videos, a 1990 episode of ''Yo! MTV Raps'', and as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block and their performance of their song "Games" for the American Music Awards in 1991. She gained her first regular high-profile job as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the television comedy program ''In Living Color'' from 1991–1993. Soon after, Lopez became a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and made an appearance in her 1993 video "That's the Way Love Goes".

Entertainment career

1993–98: Acting debut and film breakthrough with ''Selena'' and ''Out Of Sight''

Lopez's first television job as an actress was on the Fox series ''South Central''. She also made guest appearances in ''Second Chances'' and ''Hotel Malibu''. She then appeared in the made-for-television film ''Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7''. Lopez's first serious screen role was in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama ''My Family'', playing the character of Young Maria in the 1920s. After starring alongside Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in ''My Family'', which earned her a Independent Spirit Award nomination, Lopez starred in the action film ''Money Train'', opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. In 1996, she reportedly beat out Ashley Judd and Lauren Holly for the supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy ''Jack'' starring Robin Williams. She then starred opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's well-received noir thriller ''Blood and Wine'' (1996). thumb|left|200px|Lopez earned widespread acclaim for her role as "Selena" Lopez's first big break came in 1997, when she was chosen to play the title role in ''Selena'', a biopic of the Tejano pop singer Selena. Despite having previously worked with Nava on ''Mi Familia'', Lopez was subjected to an intense auditioning process before landing the role. Production of the movie began in mid 1996. Lopez played Selena in her 20s, while Rebecca Lee Maza played Selena in her younger years. During pre-production, Mexican-American activists were highly critical that Jennifer Lopez, a New York City native born to Puerto Rican parents, was selected to play Selena. They preferred an actress with Mexican roots. However, after seeing Lopez's portrayal of Selena, they revised their opinions and were more accepting of Nava's decision. Lopez earned widespread outstanding reviews and praise from critics for her portrayal of Selena. Kenneth Turan from ''Los Angeles Times'' film critic Kenneth Turan while giving the film a mixed review, he wrote that ''Selena'' was not just a celebration of Selena's life, but the actress who played her. Joe Baltake said that Lopez was "is sensational in the title role" and complimented her for pulling off lip-syncing to Selena's original tracks as her own, as she wasn't a trained singer at the time. She garnered multiple awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy". Lopez has won an MTV Movie Award. ''Selena'' had a budget of $20 million, and grossed $35 million

Later that year, Lopez appeared in two major films. She starred in the horror film ''Anaconda'' alongside Ice Cube and Jon Voight, playing the role of Terri Flores, a director who is shooting a documentary while traveling through the Amazon River. Despite being a modest box office hit, the film was critically panned. Lopez then starred as the leading actress in the neo-noir film ''U Turn'', which is based on the book ''Stray Dogs'', starring alongside Sean Penn and Billy Bob Thornton. In 1998, she had one of her most acclaimed roles, starring opposite George Clooney in ''Out of Sight'', Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. Cast as a deputy federal marshal who falls for a charming criminal, Lopez won rave reviews for her performance and in the process she became the first Latina actress to earn over $1 million for a role. That same year, she provided the voice for Azteca on the computer-animated film ''Antz''.

1999–01: Musical debut with ''On the 6'', ''J.Lo'' and continued box office success

By May 1999, publicity for Lopez's debut album had begun, and the news spread fast. Lopez's debut album ''On the 6'', a reference to the 6 subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill, was released on June 1, 1999, and reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' 200. Her debut single, "If You Had My Love" was released on May 21, 1999. It debuted at the lower ends of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at 64, and due to high airplay and sales, it reached the top spot on June 12, 1999, her first number-one lead single; it remains her only song to reach the top spot without a feature. It stayed on the chart for a total of 25 weeks, and in addition peaked at number-two on ''Billboard'' Pop Songs Chart. Looking back on the record's success, during an interview in 2011, Lopez stated "Still I think about that and still it's like wow, my first record I ever did went to number one. It's just an overwhelming feeling. This does not happen all the time. This is a very special thing." It was proceeded by the release of "Waiting For Tonight", which peaked at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and was a dance club hit. Prior to the release of "Waiting For Tonight" as a single, a Spanish language Latin-flavored ballad with Marc Anthony (her husband from 2004 to 2011), "No Me Ames" was released and failed to chart on major charts. ''On the 6'' featured guest artists such as Big Pun and Fat Joe on the track "Feelin' So Good", which had moderate success on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, however failed to reach the top 50. "Let's Get Loud", the final single, earned Lopez a Grammy Award nomination in the "Best Dance Recording" category in 2001 Grammy Awards. "Waiting for Tonight" was nominated for the same category the previous year. "No Me Ames" received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards – "Best Pop Duo/Group with Vocal Performance" and "Best Music Video". In addition, Lopez was nominated for more awards then any other at the 1999 The Billboard Music Video Awards, scoring seven nominations in total, leading the likes of Christina Aguilera. ''On The 6'' had sold three million copies worldwide by August 2000. With the release and promotion of ''On The 6'' over, Lopez had successfully converted herself from film star to pop star within 12 months. Lopez then starred opposite Vincent D'Onofrio, in the psychological thriller film ''The Cell'', released on August 18, 2000. She portrayed Catherine Deane, a child psychologist who uses virtual reality to enter into the minds of her patients to coax them out of their comas. The film was released in August 2000 and became a box office success opening at number one. By August 2000, Lopez had begun work on her sophomore album. ''J.Lo'', was released on January 23, 2001 and debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, exceeding sales of 270,000 copies in its first week. In addition, the album dethroned The Beatles's ''1'' from the top spot. At the same time, her romantic comedy film, ''The Wedding Planner'', which she stard in alongside Matthew McConaughey led box office receipts, making Lopez the first female to have a film and an album at number one in the country, in the exact same week. ''J.Lo'' was more urban oriented than ''On the 6''. The lead single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", was her first number-one single in the United Kingdom and took her into the top five on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. She followed it up with "Play" which gave her another top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number three in the UK. Her next single were "I'm Real" reached number one on the Hot 100, as well as spending over a year on the chart, with a total of 62 weeks. "I'm Real" was controversial for using a sample of the song "Firecraker"; which singer Mariah Carey had wanted to sample first. It was later shockingly announced that Carey's ex husband, Tommy Mottola had instructed record executive Irv Gotti to give Lopez the sample before Carey, and Lopez hadn't any knowledge of this at all. "Ain't It Funny" was released however didn't receive proper commercial promotion in the United States therefore ineligible for charting on the Hot 100. To capitalize on this, Lopez asked The Inc. Records (then known as Murder Inc.) to remix both songs ("I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny), which featured rap artists Ja Rule (on both) and Cadillac Tah (on the "Ain't It Funny" remix). "Ain't It Funny (murder remix)" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for several weeks, and led Radio Airplay and Pop Songs charts. On July 24, 2001, She re-released ''J. Lo'' on her 32nd birthday with the remix of "I'm Real" as a bonus track. Also, "Si Ya Se Acabó" was released in Spain, due to the success "Que Ironia." In 2001, Lopez performed on tour on the ''Let's Get Loud "Live in Puerto Rico" Concert''. ''J.Lo'' has sold 4 million copies in the United States alone. On September 27, 2004, a box set was released by Epic Records featuring ''On The 6'' and ''J.Lo'' combined. Lopez next role, in the supernatural romance film ''Angel Eyes'' released May 2001, was a box office flub and failed to garner a proper audience, in addition film critics were not impressed either.

2002–06: ''J to tha L-O! The Remixes'', ''This Is Me... Then'', focus on film and ''Rebirth''

Following the success of the re-release of ''J. Lo'', Lopez decided to devote an entire album to the remix effort, releasing ''J to tha L–O! The Remixes'', on February 5, 2002. This album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, becoming the first remix album in history to debut at the top on the chart, selling over 150,000 copies in its opening week. Featured artists on ''J to tha L-O! The Remixes'' included P. Diddy, Fat Joe, and Nas, and the album included rare dance and hip hop remixes of past singles. It is the third all-time biggest-selling remix album in history, after Michael Jackson's ''Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'', The Beatles' ''Love'' and Madonna's ''You Can Dance'', having sold a total of 1.5 million copies as of October 2010. In addition, it dethroned Alan Jackson's ''Drive'' from the number one spot on the chart, which had spent 3 consecutive weeks at the top. ''J to tha L-O: The Remixes'' sold 624,000 copies within its first month, and stayed in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' 200 for a month, too. It remained the only album to debut at number one in the United States for nearly 10 years, until Justin Bieber's remix effort in 2011 debuted at the top spot with similar opening sales. "I'm Gonna Be Alright" which was previously on her ''J.Lo'' album was released as a single; impacting the charts by July 2007 and reached the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "I'm Gonna Be Alright" spent 23 weeks on the chart. In May 2002, she starred in the thriller film Enough as Slim, a woman abused by her husband and on the run from him. The film garnered negative reviews, however the fight scene at the finale chapter of the movie in which Slim kills her husband was praised. In addition, the film was considered a "kick-butt, female empowerment" movie. Lopez released her third studio album, ''This Is Me... Then'', on November 26, 2002. It was dedicated to her then fiancé, actor Ben Affleck. The songs, in particular the fifth track, "Dear Ben" detailed her romantic relationship with Affleck. The album debuted at number six (her lowest debut as of that time) however contained her highest first-week sales of over 310,000 copies; more then double to that of ''J to tha Lo: The Remixes''. It moved to 2 on the chart later on, where it peaked, and spent 40 weeks on the chart. By February 2003 (5 months following its initial release) it remained in the Top 10, managing to average around 80,000 copies per week. The album's lead single, Jenny from the Block" (featuring Jadakiss and Styles P) was released and reached the third spot on the Hot 100. The song "intones her (Lopez) modest childhood roots vowing she wishes to remain simple despite her diamonds." Its accommodating music video featured Lopez and her then fiancé, Ben Affleck under the scrutiny of the paparazzi. ''This Is Me ... Then'' spawned three other singles , "All I Have" (featuring LL Cool J) being the second, reached number one on the Hot 100, and "I'm Glad" and "Baby I Love U!" were the final two singles released from the album, peaking at 32 and 72 on the Hot 100 respectively. The video for "I'm Glad" recreated scenes from the 1983 film ''Flashdance'', leading to a lawsuit over copyright infringement, which was later dismissed. In addition, ''This Is Me Then'' included a cover of Carly Simon's 1978 "You Belong to Me". The album has sold 2.5 million copies in the United States, lower then her previous studio albums. Following her third studio effort, Lopez took a musical hiatus to focus on her film career. She appeared alongside Ralph Fiennes in the romantic comedy film ''Maid in Manhattan'', released on December 13, 2002. Her character, Marisa Ventura, is a struggling single mother who lives in the Bronx and makes her living cleaning rooms in a super-luxurious Manhattan hotel, and gets mistaken for a socialite by a princely politician. ''Maid in Manhattan'' was a box office hit, opening at number one. ''The New York Times'' compared the film's storyline to her 2002 song, "Jenny from the Block", commenting, "In her new single, ''Jenny From the Block,'' Jennifer Lopez declares that despite her enormous wealth and global fame, she has not lost touch with her roots." ''Gigli'' a film which Lopez starred as a Lesbian, across her then-lover Ben Affleck was released on August 1, 2003, and was a box office flub, and is often considered one of the worst films ever made. In 2004, once again she starred in another movie with Ben Affleck, Jersey Girl, but only grossed $36 million at the box office and received poor reviews. In August 2003, (after the international flub of "''Gigli''") it was announced that Lopez was star in ''Shall We Dance?''. The move was released in 2004, in which Lopez starred as Paulina alongside Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon; it reached the third spot at the Box Office.''Shall We Dance?'', grossed $112,238,000, at the international box office. Domestically, ''Shall We Dance?'' grossed $57,890,460 and a total of $170,128,460 worldwide. By this time, Lopez was well established as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and the highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood history, though she's never had a film grossing over $100 million in the USA. She was on ''The Hollywood Reporter'''s list of the top ten actress salaries in 2002, 2003, and 2004.

Lopez released her fourth studio album, ''Rebirth'', on March 1, 2005. The lead single was "Get Right"., reaching 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was a dance club hit. The song reached number one in the United Kingdom. The video for "Get Right" has Lopez portraying many different characters in a nightclub and sporting several different looks and occupations. Following the release of "Get Right", the album debuted (and peaked) at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 261,000 copies in its opening week. It quickly fell off the charts, and produced one more single, "Hold You Down", which featured Fat Joe, reached number 64 on the Hot 100 while it peaked at number six in the UK and ascended to the top 20 in Australia. The song "Cherry Pie" was intended to be released as a single, however due to low sales (despite a high start) of ''Rebirth'' these plants were scrapped. ''Rebirth'' was certified Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA; selling over 700,000 copies so far in the United States, and has enjoyed international success. In May 2005, the film ''Monster-in-Law'' was released. It was Jane Fonda's first movie in several years. It featured Lopez as Charlie, an artist who is pitted against her fiance's conniving mother when she doesn't accept her as her son's girlfriend (or soon-to-be wife). However, the $43-million film became a box-office smash debuting at number one, earning $83 million ($154.7 worldwide) during its theatrical run in summer 2005. Lopez received $15 million for her role in ''Monster-in-Law''. Later, she starred in a film entitled ''An Unfinished Life'', which did not do well; only reaching 11 at the Box office. In 2006, Lopez was featured in LL Cool J's single "Control Myself", which was released on February 1, 2006. It reached number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart, Lopez's first collaborative Top 10 Hit in the U.S. since 2003. Also that year, she was in the movie ''Bodertown''; The movie is based on a series of unsolved murders in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a ''maquiladora'' border city across the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) from El Paso, Texas. Estimates of the murders conflict, yet, conservatively speaking over four hundred women, maybe many more, have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered since 1993 in and around Ciudad Juárez. Lopez garnered a few awards and recognition for this part. The film wasn't a large success, though. Jennifer was one of the recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award, after her appearance in ''Bordertown''.

2007–08: ''Como ama una Mujer'', ''Brave'' and career break

From early 2006, it was reported that Lopez was to release a full Spanish language album. Contactmusic.com said that Lopez would "prove critics wrong" and prove that she actually has a voice, through this new project. Upon the eve of the album's release, Lopez explained that she had previously aimed to sing in Spanish, however her career took a different path. Lopez officially released her first full Spanish-language album, ''Como ama una Mujer'', on March 23, 2007. It was one of few Latin albums to debut within the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' 200, debuting at number 10. The album was a natural and large success within the Latin community, reaching number one on ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums. The record enjoyed moderate international success, reaching the top 10 in countries such as Italy, Germany, Greece, Poland and Austria, however was her first album to fail on the U.K. charts, charting briefly somewhere under the Top 100 mark. thumb|left|Lopez with husband Marc Anthony (right) and Greek singer Kostas Martakis (left), who opened her September 2008 concert in Athens. ''Como ama una Mujer'' marks the highest debut sales in the United States for a Spanish album and the highest digital sales for a Spanish album. It went straight to number one in Switzerland. ''The York Press'', on the album, stated that "Lopez stunned many with her Spanish language Como Ama una Mujer, which at last proved that she is a major musical force." For promotion of ''Como Ama Una Mujer'', Lopez traveled with her husband, Marc Athony, back to the Bronx, to meet fans and sign copies of her album in her hold neighbourd. Over 500 people attended. In an interview, Lopez stated "It touches my heart to be able to bring this album back to my neighborhood, back to my home." Her husband, singer Marc Anthony, produced the album with Estefano, except for "Qué Hiciste", which Anthony co-produced with Julio Reyes. The lead single, "Qué Hiciste" (Spanish for "What Did You Do"), was released to radio stations in January 2007. It peaked at 86 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Latin Songs and the Hot Dance Club Play. It also went top ten on the European chart. The video for the song was the first Spanish-language video to peak at number one on MTV's ''Total Request Live'' daily countdown. The second single released is called "Me Haces Falta" and the third is "Por Arriesgarnos". Lopez won an American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist in 2007, which she won again four years later in 2011. Lopez performed "Qué Hiciste" on Reality singing competition ''American Idol'', in the same week she was a mentor; she is the first person to perform a Latin (non-english) song on the hit show. On July 24, 2007 (Lopez's birthday) ''Billboard'' magazine reported that Lopez and husband Marc Anthony would "co-headline" a worldwide tour called "Juntos en Concierto" starting in New Jersey on September 29. The tour launched September 28, 2007 at the Mark G. Etess Arena and ended on November 7, 2007 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. In August 2007, Lopez collaborated on the feature film, ''El Cantante'', with her husband – singer-actor Marc Anthony. Ms. Lopez, who's also a producer of the film, "does enough acting for the two of them in her role as Puchi, Héctor’s wife" while creating a very interesting and edgy performance. The film is in English, with creative use of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics. On August 15, 2007, it was confirmed that Lopez had begun working on her fifth English language album, and sixth studio album overall, that was confirmed for a release on October 9, 2007. The title was announced as ''Brave''. The lead single was announced as "Do It Well", which was serviced to radio stations and released in August. It debuted at 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling only 53,000 copies in its opening week. Commercially, it was her least successful album. "Do It Well" managed to reach 31 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, but remained on the chart only for a mere nine weeks. It earned mixed to negative reviews, Rashod D. Ollison from ''The Sun'' said that "Brave – was not to daring". However, there were a ''few'' positive reviews. ''The York Press'' compared ''Brave'' to Britney Spears' album due for release around the same time. Praising Lopez for not needing digital enhancement of her voice in "Brave" compared to Spears, they turned their favor to ''Brave'' instead of ''Blackout'' despite praising Spears' for delivering a "decent album". Aside from this, ''Brave'' garnered negative or mixed reviews, who complained that despite the title, there was nothing brave about it. She collaborated with producers Midi Mafia, J. R. Rotem, Lynn and Wade and Ryan Tedder, with Rotem working on some tracks with writing partner Evan "Kidd" Bogart. Earlier, on August 26, 2007, ABC premiered a promo for the fourth season of ''Desperate Housewives'', featuring a snippet of the song "Mile in These Shoes". "Do It Well" was released as the lead single and reached the top 20 in many countries. "Hold It, Don't Drop It" was released as the second single in certain European territories only. The third single was set to be the title track "Brave", and it was even posted on director Michael Haussman's official website that filming of the music video for the song had completed, however, the release of "Brave" as a single was eventually scrapped, most likely due to low album sales. ''Brave'' has sold over 160,000 copies only (which sales are comparable to that of Lopez' previous ''first'' week sales of her first five albums).

2010–present: ''American Idol'', ''Love?'' and comeback

While pregnant with twins Max and Emme, Lopez had been writing material for her seventh studio album ''Love?'', with a planned release for the summer of 2010. A song titled "Fresh Out the Oven" featuring Miami rapper Pitbull surfaced online in October 2009 but her record label said that it was simply a buzz single. It topped the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The project's official lead single, "Louboutins", had its radio debut on November 23, 2009, following the song's premiere and performance at the 2009 American Music Awards. The song only managed to enter the Hot Dance Club Play chart six weeks after release and reaching number 1, however, it failed to enter any other chart, including the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On January 27, 2010, it was announced that Lopez would guest-star on an episode of ''How I Met Your Mother'' as Anita Appleby, a no-nonsense author of self-help books that teach women how to mold men into "relationship machines" through the power of denial. In February 2010 Lopez and her record label of ten years, Epic Records, parted ways. Lopez's manager, Benny Medina, confirmed the news, saying "Jennifer had a wonderful relationship with the Sony Music Group, and they have shared many successes together, but the time was right to make a change that best serves the direction of her career as an actress and recording artist... She is grateful and appreciative to everyone at Sony for all that they accomplished together." Lopez later released a statement to the media where she said that she had already completed her contractual obligations with Sony Music Entertainment and Epic Records and decided it was for the best to end the partnership on amicable terms. She added that she found a new "home" [record label] for the album 'Love?'. Shortly after being spotted talking to Island Def Jam's chairman and CEO L.A. Reid, it was confirmed on March 19, 2010 that Lopez signed with Island Def Jam, and was working on new material for ''Love?'' with RedZone Entertainment (Kuk Harrell, The-Dream and Tricky Stewart). In April 2010, she appeared in the romantic comedy ''The Back-up Plan''. The film debuted at the top spot at the Box Office.

In June 2010, following the departure of Ellen DeGeneres from ''American Idol'', it was reported that Lopez was in talks to join season ten's judging panel. However, it was then reported that Lopez was out of the running due to "outrageous demands", something which returning ''Idol'' producer, Nigel Lythgoe responded to by saying "[Jennifer] is in no way a diva, I've worked with her on quite a few occasions and I have never yet seen her be a diva." He did not confirm or deny reports of the contract negotiations between Lopez and the other ''Idol'' producers. Both Lopez and husband, Marc Anthony, were being considered for a role on ''The X Factor'' for their appeal to 'Latin' and 'International' markets. Lopez's involvement in ''The X Factor'' was ruled out when the media reported that she had accepted an offer to become a judge on season ten of ''Idol'', despite being offered roles on both shows. The announcement was made official on September 22, 2010. MTV said "the deal was mutually beneficial to all those involved" whilst CNN reported that Lopez was viewing it as a decision to revive her career while ''Idol'' producers believe Lopez and Steven Tyler's appointments will strengthen viewing figures. The public agreed that Lopez was a more suitable judge replacement for Ellen, as she had experience within the music industry, which DeGeneres lacked.

In January 2011 Lopez's new single, "On the Floor", featuring American rapper Pitbull surfaced online. Behind the single was producer RedOne, who predicted that it was going to be a "big hit". The song samples Kaoma's 1989 hit "Lambada". On March 3, 2011 "On The Floor" debuted at nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after selling 170,000 copies, the highest debut of her career, and her highest charting of any sort since "All I Have". Later that night, the video for "On The Floor" debuted on ''American Idol''. The song peaked at three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and peaked at number one in over fifteen different countries, and over twenty different charts. Worldwide, it was the fourth best selling digital single of 2011 with sales of 8.4 million copies. The video for "On The Floor" as a result of its ''American Idol'' premiere has received 480 million views on Lopez's VEVO channel on YouTube, the second most watched video of all time. ''Love?'''s second single written by Taio Cruz, "I'm Into You" was released on April 1, 2011 and features rapper Lil Wayne it debuted at 72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and peaked at 41 in August 2011. In addition, the song was a dance club hit, peaking at number one on ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs, and number nine in the United Kingdom. The video for "I'm Into You" was released, co-starring William Levy as her lover in the video. ''Love?'' was released on May 3, 2011, and opened at five on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 83,000 copies. It was a moderate success, and viewed as a humble comeback from Lopez, as many had considered her recording career well over. Lopez has been selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012, in the "Recording" category, along with Boyz II Men. "Papi" was released on September 13, 2011 and charted at 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became her 11th number one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The following month, she was named "Women of the year" by ''Glamour Magazine''. Lopez was then featured on will.i.am's song from his upcoming album, ''#willpower'', "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" and she was also featured in the music video. By the end of November 2011, it was confirmed that Lopez would be releasing a greatest hits album by 2012, in which her vocal producer and The-Dream were on board.

On December 13, 2011, Lopez was named the "World's greatest musical comeback act" announced by ''Los Angeles Times'', a ranking from an accuracast, a digital search that analyzed over a billion Google searches since 2004. Lopez ranked ahead of comebacks from artists such as Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin. On December 22, 2011, the former head of Island Def Jam, L.A. Reid, announced via twitter that Lopez' Greatest Hits album would be arriving soon. On December 25, 2011 Lopez was named "Best Comeback" act by Billboard.com Reader's Poll, leading with 47% of votes for the title, beating out Kelly Clarkson (17%) and Evanescence (12%). She was also ranked 43rd most successful artist of 2011. In late 2011, Lopez worked with ex-husband Marc Anthony and director-choeographer Jamie King on a Latin talent series created by Simon Fuller, called ''¡Q'Viva! The Chosen''. Filming of the show began in October 2011. It follows Lopez and Anthony as they travel across 21 countries to find new talent. It is slated to air on the first quarter of 2012 on Univision. During an interview with ''Extra TV'' Lopez confirmed that she had been working on new music and a possible tour, Lopez had also previously talked about the possibility of a tour after the release of ''Love?'' around June 2011, which never materialized, as it could have jeapordised her position as a judge on ''American Idol''. Lopez's film, ''What to Expect When You're Expecting'', in which she will play Holly. The film will be released to theaters on May 11, 2012. Another film which Lopez has shot her parts for, ''Parker'' will be released in 2012. Lopez will portray Leslie. Lopez voices Shira in the upcoming animated film, ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'' which is the fourth movie in the ''Ice Age'' series.

Business ventures

Fashion

Lopez launched a clothing line in 2001. Entitled JLO by Jennifer Lopez, the line included different types of clothing for young women, including jeans, T-shirts, coats, belts, purses, and lingerie, a jewelry line, and an accessory line that includes hats, gloves, and scarves. Lopez participated in the Louis Vuitton Winter 2003 campaign. In 2003, she launched a new clothing line called ''Sweetface'', which was closed in 2009. In late 2007, Lopez retired JLO by Jennifer Lopez and launched a new juniors' line called JustSweet. Her fashion lines have featured at many New York Fashion Week events. In 2011, Lopez launched her clothing line at Kohls, which she labelled as affordable and completely her style. Her ex, Marc Anthony, also put out his clothing line for Kohls at the same time.

Production company

Lopez owns the film and television production company Nuyorican Productions, which was launched as early as 2003. It was co-founded with her manager Benny Medina, who was supposed to receive half the producing revenue from the company. Lopez split with Medina shortly after the company was founded, but they later restored their business relationship.

Nuyorican Productions produced mini-series broadcast on Univisión, which Jennifer was a co-executive producer of; the shoe was names after her CD ''Como Ama Una Mujer'', it ran in five episodes from October 30 to November 27, 2007, and starred Adriana Cruz. Another show that came from her production company, "Brethren" which FOX gave script commitment, and it later aired on the channel. The production company, which has produced "Taming Ben Taylor", "Nannyland" and "Amigas Sweet 15 Club" has signed deals with FOX for films to be made.

Endorsements

Lopez ventured in the perfume industry with her debut ''Glow by J.Lo'', which can be purchased anywhere including every-day shopping outlets like Macy's and pharmacy chains. Lopez said that she wanted Glow to be "Sexy and sensual." ''Glow by J.Lo'' has a scent of orange, grapefruit, jasmine, orris, Irises, vanilla and musk. Lopez re-visited Glow later, creating a limited edition spin-off, ''Miami Glow by J.Lo''. ''Still'' was released as the third major fragrance in October 2003; it is described as "the scent of a woman," and "A scent that captures the way a woman feels when she has discovered herself. Real and true. Serene and sensual." ''Glow by J.Lo'' and ''Still'' were very successful in the fragrance market.

In 2005, Lopez launched three fragrances: ''Miami Glow'', ''Love At First Glow'' and ''Live''. In 2006, she released another fragrance, ''Glow After Dark'', a perfume suited to night theme. In 2008, she released her ''Deseo'' fragrance line, which featured ''Deseo'', ''Deseo Forever'' and ''Deseo For Men'', her first male fragrance. ''Live Platinum'' was released in 2008 as well. ''Sunkissed Glow'' and ''My Glow'' were released in 2009; ''My Glow'' was inspired by the birth of her twins, and the top was an angel/baby. TLC, a division of Discovery Communications Inc, had signed Lopez to an unscripted reality series about the launching of her new fragrance, but the series never materialized. Her next fragrance, ''Blue Glow By J.Lo'' which was a refreshing "watery feel" fragrance.

Her 15th fragrance is ''Love and Glamour'', which was launched in June and released to counters in October, 2010. Her 16th fragrance is ''L.A Glow'', inspired by L.A. Nightlife. Lopez launched her 17th fragrance, ''Love & Light'' In July 2011. She launched it on HSN where she appeared for six hours, and the perfume sold 51,000 bottles in that amount of time, her most successful fragrance launch to date. Apart from Fragrances, Lopez has endorsed several other products.

In 2003, Lopez was in a pepsi commercial featuring Beyoncé Knowles and David Beckham entitled "Samurai". She endorses several L'Oréal products, and was named "L'Oréal Paris Global Brand Ambassador" In December 2010. She has shot several adds for the endorsement deal. Lopez's recent L’Oreal EverSleek campaign made its debut during the Golden Globes ad break, kicking it off in a big way. Products that Lopez has endorsed for L'Oreal recently include El Vive Triple Resist, True Match, Color Riche, GlamShine, and Voluminous Lashes commercials, the EverSleek commercial and print ads, and the Infallible Lip Color and ElVive Triple Resist print ads. In 2011, Lopez endorsed and promoted a variety of products. In addition to L'Oréal, lopez endorses Gillette women's products, such as the "Get Your Goddess Showing" project. She was named the first ever "Gillette-Venus Global Ambassador" In 2011, too. She recorded a cover of "Venus" by Shocking Blue for her Gillette-Venus advertisement. Lopez is a spokesperson for Harmon Kardon home surround sound system. Lopez is the face of TOUS Jewelry. Lopez is a spokesperson for Lux shampoo in Japan, appearing in the product's television commercials. As of late 2011, she promotes FIAT cats in the United States. Her advertisements for the brand have garnered negative reviews, and in January 2012 a United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) group told Lopez to end her endorsement for problems with the FIAT brand which "freely does business with a regime that is developing an illegal nuclear weapons program."

Philanthropy

Lopez is an avid supporter of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and was presented with the Children's Humanitarian Award at the hospital's inaugural Noche de Niños gala in September 2004. Lopez continues to attend the annual red carpet event and is a regular visitor to the hospital. The singer participated in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon benefiting the hospital in 2008. In May 2009, Lopez formed The Maribel Foundation, with the goal of supporting Children's Hospital Los Angeles and improving health care internationally. On February 14, 2007, Lopez received the Artists for Amnesty International award "in recognition of her work as producer and star of ''Bordertown'', a film exposing the ongoing murders of hundreds of women in the border city of Juárez, Mexico". Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos-Horta presented the award to Lopez at the Berlin International Film Festival. She also received special recognition and thanks from Norma Andrade, co-founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C. ("May Our Daughters Return Home, Civil Association"), an organization consisting of mothers and families of the murdered women of Juárez. Lopez has also been involved in promoting vaccination for whooping cough. Lopez is working with Sounds of Pertussis and March of Dimes to promote awareness about the disease and encourage vaccination of adults to prevent spread of disease to infants.

Lopez owns a foundation with her sister, Lynda Lopez, entitled ''The Maribel Foundation''. The name ''Maribel'' is Marc's sister who died due to a brain tumor. The foundation was publicly launched on ''Larry King Live'', in which Lopez and her sister appeared in June 2010. In a letter from the official website, Lopez said that the foundation was important as it braught a "greater sense of security and well-being to under-served and under-privileged communities." The foundation will help parents who haven't access to medical services and health care facilities, and therefore can't be informed about critical child and health care topics. ''The Maribel Foundation'' worked with Telemedicine clinics abroad and near to increase healthcare for serious cases. "Telemedicine" is a delivery system that uses technology (telecommunications) to conduct medical diagnoses, consultations, treatments, transfers of data, education of physicians, and dissemination of public health alerts and/or emergency updates. The program is mainly reaching out to those living in under privileged or deserted areas without proper medical services. The foundation can also save children's lives who have serious diseases; as it provides them services over communication from elsewhere. Prior to the foundation; at 2008's annual Woman's Conference, oh her foundation, Lopez said "My foundation will prioritize the importance of empowerment. I have lots of big dreams and envision big changes toward proper healthcare, prenatal care, pediatric care. And that, coming together in the biggest possible way is what I believe women are capable of." Also at this Woman's Conference, Lopez confirmed that she was building a foundation for woman, health, children and education. The foundation's slogan is "Where children are concerned, there is no time to lose."

For her foundation, Lopez recording a song, "One Step At a Time", dedicated to her twins. It was included on an album for the foundation, ''Every Mother Counts'' a CD which was released exclusively only to Starbucks from April 2011; the money was donated to the foundation. The album was devoted fully to mothers. Lopez was one of the recipients of Love Our Children USA's “Mothers Who Make A Difference” awards in 2009. On October 25, 2011, ''The Maribel Foundation'' received a $500,000 dollar donation pledge from Samsung and Best Buy. An advertisement featuring Lopez promoting Samsung products for ''The Maribel Foundation'' has aired.

Honors and awards

During her career, Lopez has had various nominations, awards and achievements. For her contributions to the music industry and her film work, she has garnered 7 American Music Award nominations (winning 3), 18 MTV Video Music Awards nominations (winning 2), 9 MTV Europe Music Award nominations (winning 3), 2 Grammy Award nominations, 2 Latin Grammy Award nominations, 1 Golden Globe nomination, 9 ALMA Award nominations (winning 3), 2 Billboard Music Awards nominations (winning 2), 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards nominations (winning 5), 4 World Music Awards nominations (winning 2), 2 Brit Award nominations, 5 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards nominations (winning 3) among others.

Her role in the 1998 film ''Out of Sight'' earned her a paycheck of over $1 million, making her the world's highest paid Latin actress. In 2001, Lopez became the first female to have a film and album both be number one at the same time in the United States. Lopez has been recognized by ''People en Español'' magazine as both the cover subject for the "50 Most Beautiful" issue in 2006 and the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" issue in February 2007. In 2011, she was named "World's Most Beautiful Woman" by People's Choice magazine.

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''Us Weekly'' named Lopez as Style Icon of the 2000–2010 decade.

Lopez's most memorable Fashion moment in her career was the Green Versace "Jungle Dress" that she wore at the 42nd Grammy Awards In 2000. A poll by Debenhams, published in the ''Daily Telegraph'', voted it the fifth most iconic dress of all time. It has been cited along with the Elizabeth Hurley's black Versace dress as being the top dresses that made Versace a household name and the turning point in designer Donatella Versace's career after the death of her brother Gianni Versace. The dress is currently on display at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. For her Fashion sense, Lopez has earned several awards including a VH1 Award and Vogue Fashion Award in 1999 for "Most Fashionable Female Artist", achieving multiple other awards since for outstanding achievements and recognition. Lopez was complimented in an article for ''ELLE'', the author wrote – "She wears little visible makeup, and with her hair in a bun, huge hoop earrings, and a long halterdress on, she’s squarely in casual-mother mode, a style Diane von Furstenberg describes as “exotic and earthy." Lopez cites Urban, Edgy Bronx style as a contribution to her continuing fashion style. Lopez says she is a fan of "Glamour" and "Old Hollywood Movie Stars" as a fashion sense.

Aside from her fashion sense in clothes, Lopez has changed her personal appearance multiple times, scoring several different hairstyles over the years. Lopez's two-piece (eventually stripped down to a body-suit) "train dress highlighting her curves and flawless skin" at the 2011 American Music Awards was both welcomed and praised but was received mixed and negatively, too. Despite popularity and favoritism with her outfits, Lopez has also received negativity; the dress she wore in 2011 to the BAFTA Gala gave her the title of "Worst Dressed" of the evening along with others, most likely due to her open-abs section. Lopez's frequent use of animal fur in her clothing lines and personal wardrobe has brought the scorn of people concerned with animal rights. At the Los Angeles premiere of ''Monster-in-Law'', more than 100 protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) held a demonstration to highlight their concerns.

Personal life

Starting in 1984, when Lopez was 15 and in high school, she began dating David Cruz. They split up in 1994, but remained close; Lopez said in 2004, "He's a friend and he probably knows me better than anyone else".

Lopez's first marriage was to Cuban-born Ojani Noa on February 22, 1997. Lopez met Noa while he worked as a waiter at a Miami restaurant. They divorced in January 1998. Lopez later employed Noa as the manager of her Pasadena restaurant Madre's in April 2002, but he was fired in October 2002. After Noa sued Lopez over the termination, they drew up a confidentiality agreement. In April 2006, Lopez sued to prevent Noa from publishing a book containing personal details about their marriage, contending it violated their confidentiality agreement. In August 2007, a court-appointed arbitrator issued a permanent injunction forbidding Ojani Noa from "criticizing, denigrating, casting in a negative light or otherwise disparaging" Lopez. She was awarded $545,000 in compensatory damages, which included nearly $300,000 in legal fees and almost $48,000 in arbitration costs. Noa was also ordered to hand over all copies of materials related to the book to Lopez or her attorney. In November 2009, Lopez sued Noa for breach of contract and invasion of privacy, citing a previous confidentiality agreement between the two, to prevent Noa from releasing his planned film, "How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The JLo and Ojani Noa Story", and alleged "previously unseen home video footage". On December 1, 2009, judge James Chalfant granted a temporary injunction against Noa and his agent, Ed Meyer, barring them from distributing the footage in any forum. Lopez's lawyer said that he will return to court to make it permanent, stressing that "there wasn't anything even close" to a sex tape in Noa's possession: "It's private and personal, but it wasn't a sex tape. They are innocent and they have been misrepresented... to increase value and media attention". After the hearing, Noa said he planned to fight the injunction: "It's not about the money, it's about my life".

Lopez next had a two and a half year relationship with hip-hop mogul Sean Combs. Combs allegedly showered Lopez with diamonds and jewlery, the inspiration for her 2000 hit, "Love Don't Cost a Thing". On December 27, 1999, Lopez and Combs were at Club New York, a midtown Manhattan nightclub, when gunfire erupted between Combs' entourage and another group. Lopez and Combs were being driven away from the scene when they were chased and stopped by the police. A gun was found in the front seat of their vehicle. Combs was charged with felony gun possession. Stress over Combs' trial and pursuit by the press multiplied their problems, and Lopez terminated her involvement with Combs one year later. During a related civil suit in 2008, the plaintiff's lawyer said Lopez had “nothing to contribute to the case”.

Her second marriage was to her former backup dancer, Cris Judd. She met Judd while filming the music video for her single "Love Don't Cost a Thing." The two were married on September 29, 2001, at a home in the L.A. suburbs. Prior to the marriage, it had been reported by the tabloids in June 2001 that Lopez was expecting, which never turned out to be true. Their marriage effectively ended in June 2002, when Lopez began publicly dating Ben Affleck. They were divorced in January 2003. On April 12, 2002, Lopez opened a Cuban restaurant in the South Lake district of Pasadena, California named ''Madre's'' with her family. In July 2008 ''Madre's'' closed down for unknown reasons.

Her relationship with Affleck was highly publicized, with the media dubbing the couple "Bennifer". Lopez announced her engagement to Affleck in November 2002, after Affleck gave her a six-carat pink diamond ring worth a reported $1.2 million. Lopez promised interviewers that Affleck was indeed "the one", and that they would soon have a family. The marriage, planned for September 14, 2003 in Santa Barbara, California, was called off just hours before the event. They announced the end of their engagement in January 2004. Their relationship was parodied on the ''South Park'' episode "Fat Butt and Pancake Head", which aired on April 16, 2003. In 2003, Lopez and Affleck acted together in the film ''Gigli'' and in the 2004 film ''Jersey Girl''. He also appeared in her "Jenny from the Block" video.

Marriage to Marc Anthony and motherhood

Less than two months after her break-up with Affleck, Lopez was seen with singer Marc Anthony, a longtime friend with whom she had worked in music videos. They had briefly dated in the late 1990s, before his first marriage and her second. Lopez and Anthony were recording a duet together in early 2004, for Lopez's then-upcoming film ''Shall We Dance?''. In October 2003, Anthony became separated, for the second time, from his first wife, former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres, with whom he has two children. Torres filed for divorce three months later. Lopez and Anthony married in a quiet home wedding on June 5, 2004, four days after his divorce from Torres was final.

Lopez's guests had been invited to an "afternoon party" at Lopez's house and had not been made aware that they were actually going to her wedding. The couple had planned not to publicize their marriage early on, allowing more privacy and time together in an otherwise intrusive environment. Days after the wedding, Anthony refused to comment on their marriage during interviews which were scheduled earlier to promote a new album "Amar Sin Mentiras" (To Love Without Lies). In February 2005, Lopez confirmed the marriage, and added that "everyone knows. It's not a secret". A few months later, Anthony's daughter, Ariana, appeared at the end of Lopez's music video "Get Right" as her little sister. Regarding his marriage and family life, Anthony maintains a private and sometimes defensive stance with the media, which has influenced Lopez to set some boundaries with interviewers.

On November 7, 2007, the last night of her "En Concierto" tour, Lopez confirmed she was expecting her first child with husband Marc. The announcement ended months of speculation over the pregnancy. Her father later confirmed on February 5, 2008, that she was expecting twins. Lopez gave birth on February 22, 2008 to fraternal twins, a girl and a boy, Emme Maribel Muñiz, and Maximilian "Max" David Muñiz. The twins were introduced in the March 11, 2008 issue of ''People'' magazine, for which the magazine paid $6 million.

By January 2008, Lopez lived with her family in Brookville, New York, on Long Island. Her mother, Guadalupe Lopez, moved into the gated home in June that year. In June 2008 Lopez was hit with a $5 million-dollar lawsuit after her guard dog allegedly attacked her 40-year-old women, causing her back troubles. Marc Anthony, too was later added to this lawsuit for equal ownership of the German Sheppard. On July 15, 2011, following seven years of marriage to Anthony, the couple's representative announced that the couple were separating. It has been speculated that during Lopez marriage to Marc Anthony, he tried to control her fashion wardrobe according to ''Us Weekly'' among other sources. Anthony allegedly wanted Lopez to dress more appropriately for a mother of two and a forty-year old.

In September 2011, Lopez purchased a home in the Hamptons for $18 million. Lopez is a practitioner of Krav Maga. She is also active on social networking site Twitter. As of 2012, media has focused on Lopez's alleged relationship with her back-up dancer, Casper Smart. Anthony himself has also an open relationship with Venezuelan model Shannon De Lima.

Religion

It was reported that Lopez and Marc Anthony were taking professional business meetings at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, California, in late 2006. It was also rumored that Lopez and Anthony became Scientologists during that period with the help of Angelo Pagan, the husband of ''The King of Queens'' actress and Scientologist Leah Remini. Just prior to those reports, Lopez said to NBC, "I'm not a Scientologist, I was raised Catholic. But it's funny the way people come at it. To me it's so strange. These are some of the best people I've ever met in my life." She added, "My dad has been a Scientologist for 20 years. He's the best man that I know in my life and so, it's weird to me that people want to paint it in a negative way." It has been reported that a factor in Lopez's break with Anthony was over the religious education of their twins; Lopez desired to send the children to a "specialist Scientology school" a position Anthony disagreed with.

Works

Discography

''On the 6'' (1999)

''J.Lo'' (2001)

''This Is Me... Then'' (2002)

''Rebirth'' (2005)

''Como ama una Mujer'' (2007)

''Brave'' (2007)

''Love?'' (2011)

Filmography

''Selena'' (1997), Selena Quintanilla

''Anaconda'' (1997), Terri Flores

''The Cell'' (2000), Catherine Deane

''The Wedding Planner'' (2001), Mary Fiore

''Angel Eyes'' (2001), Sharon Pogue

''Enough'' (2002), Slim Hiller

''Maid in Manhattan'' (2002), Marisa Ventura

''Monster-in-Law'' (2005), Charlie

''Bordertown'' (2006), Lauren Adrian

''The Back-up Plan'' (2010), Zoe

See also

List of Puerto Ricans

List of songs recorded by Jennifer Lopez

Marc Anthony

''American Idol''

Notes

References

External links

Official website for Jennifer Lopez fragrances

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:American dancers Category:American dance musicians Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American fashion businesspeople Category:American fashion designers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:English-language singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Hispanic and Latino American actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American women Category:Idol series judges Category:Krav Maga practitioners Category:Latin pop singers Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Notaries Category:People from the Bronx Category:Puerto Rican actors Category:Puerto Rican female singers Category:Spanish-language singers

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