Jennifer Lopez: I can handle the 'diva label' they put on me

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican grew up in the Bronx. She got her first job in 1990 as a Fly Girl, in the hit US comedy show In Living Color. Film roles followed in Out of Sight and The Wedding Planner. Her big break came with Selena, in 1997, which also launched her singing career. Lopez married Ojani Noa, a waiter and model, and was then involved with the rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. Once she obtains her divorce from backing dancer Cris Judd, she is to marry the actor Ben Affleck. Her new film, Enough, is in the cinemas now.

Jennifer, you really kicked some butt in this movie. How strenuous was the training?

I started training about two months before the movie started. I get the better of this six-foot-four, 200-pound guy but luckily we didn't film the scene until late in the shoot. So I had a lot of time to prepare. I studied the Israeli self-defence technique Krav Maga. It's kind of a street-fighting martial art.

Have you ever had to defend yourself in real life?

No. Thank God.

What's your new film about?

It's a thriller, but it also has a very clear message. Spousal abuse happens all the time, but it doesn't matter how bad the situation, you still have the power within yourself to change it or to get out of it. That's what I liked about this movie. It's like a female Rocky in that it has the training and the entertainment.

What inspired you to write the song for the film?

My [ex-]husband Cris was tinkering around on the piano in October last year, just after everything had happened in New York. He doesn't play, but he knows a couple of chords. He made up this melody and it was beautiful. It sounded a little bit like a movie. I said I could write some words. So I started thinking about the character and what I had gone through and what she went through, and it made me realise how grateful I am to just be here. Life can be so crazy.

Now that you can carry a film, do you feel more in charge of your career?

Sure, I make my decisions. I want to create my own projects, develop my own stories, and attach the great directors to the project myself, instead of waiting for the phone to ring. That way, I can take control of my own destiny.

Do you ever find time for yourself?

Not that much. I try to concentrate on getting good rest. I love what I do, and I'm not complaining about how much I work. But I do need to concentrate on getting rest. I'm not the type who has to go out to dinner all the time or go to clubs. That's just not me. So it's okay. I just like to be around my loved ones and visit friends and that's enough for me.

Does it bother you when people focus on your derriere?

No, it doesn't bother me. I feel good with who I am. I don't feel I have to be like everybody else out there. I feel beauty comes from the inside, and that's so much more important than what's on the outside – it's not about having a butt that's too big. It's about other things. I mean, I look at my grandmother and I think, she's so beautiful. Her eyes shine – it's something inside, which you can't explain.

What's it like to be one of the most powerful women in Hollywood?

Am I a powerful woman in Hollywood now? I don't know. No, it doesn't feel that way, but it is a good feeling to have an idea, a vision, and for people at least listen to me. So, in that way, I feel like I have some sort of pull.

How do you feel about your reputation for being difficult?

It is something I don't really worry about too much, because I know it will be dispelled when people meet me and work with me. I know how much of it is just bull and lies and fabricated stuff for entertainment purposes only. You know, it's a shame that they choose to put the "diva label" on the person who probably works harder than anyone else. But that's fine, I'm not complaining. I can handle it.

You have just finished shooting your new comedy, Gigli, with [your fiancé] Ben Affleck. There were rumours about a scene with a lesbian kiss. What's all that about?

In the movie, I play a lesbian. I do have a girlfriend but there was no kissing action written in the script. Those were just rumours.

How is your new restaurant going?

Great thanks. I named it Madre's, because I wanted it to always feel like your mum's house. It's in Pasadena, and it offers food which is mainly Cuban and Puerto Rican and it has a great Latino ambience.

Are you a morning person?

No, I'm not, but I don't wake up in a bad mood. I love to make people laugh all through the day. That's just who I am. I wake up happy. I tend to look on the brighter side of life.