Why You Haven't Seen Jennifer Lopez Appear In A Movie Since 2019

Jennifer Lopez is the epitome of a multi-hyphenate talent. The star is a singer, actress, businesswoman, dancer, producer, and fashion designer, whose hits are as famous as her movies. She's the singer behind classic songs including "Let's Get Loud," "On The Floor," and "Jenny From The Block," and J.Lo has also appeared in big time movies such as Maid In Manhattan, Selena, and The Wedding Planner. But she is showing no signs of slowing down.

When the news of her split with Alex Rodriguez — almost two years after he popped the question on the beach during a vacation — shocked the world on March 12, 2021, the star was actually in the Dominican Republic working on her next big movie, according to Page Six. Lopez was spotted on location the day the news broke as she continued to shoot scenes for Shotgun Wedding, as People reported she's appearing opposite Josh Duhamel after Armie Hammer stepped down shortly before production began.

But, while she has roles in the works, Lopez actually has not appeared in a movie since she starred in 2019's Hustlers, for which she received plenty of praise, including Golden Globe and SAG Awards nominations. But where has she been when it comes to the big screen? Keep reading to find out.

While Jennifer Lopez is famous for her hardworking attitude, there's no doubting she put in a little extra effort in 2019 and early 2020 with two huge gigs. The star filmed Hustlers — in which she played a stripper named Ramona, based on a real-life person — in just 29 days. In a video posted to her YouTube account in September 2019, Lopez revealed all the hard work that went into the month-long shoot, including her having to learn how to pole dance.

Following the grueling production schedule, Lopez went into rehearsals for the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show, where she performed alongside Shakira at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. She opened up about all the effort that went into it during a February 2020 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, admitting she "worked so hard" for months. "We started working on my set in November, and it was just every single day. It's a short amount of time, you know what I mean?" she said. Understandably, Lopez took a little time off after a busy work period.

On Feb. 16, 2021, J.Lo revealed that she had enjoyed some personal time when she stunned in a bikini selfie posted to her Instagram. Lopez hinted she may have headed out on vacation as she shared a photo of herself in the mirror alongside the caption, "Relaxed and recharged," with a white heart.

Before their split was confirmed in March 2021, Jennifer Lopez spent a lot of time with Alex Rodriguez and her family, including her twins, Max and Emme, and Rodriguez's daughters, Natasha and Ella. While the coronavirus pandemic meant people all over the world had to stay home from March 2020 on, Lopez revealed that she had always planned to take a step back.

"I didn't plan to be trapped at home," Lopez joked in a January 2021 interview with Elle, admitting, "But I had planned to be home, and it's been good." The star was also set to wed Rodriguez in 2020, which likely took a lot of her focus, but the former couple had to move their wedding due to the pandemic. "We postponed the wedding twice. We had planned what we really, really wanted to do, [but] I don't know if we'll be able to re-create that," she said. "We canceled it, and since then we haven't really talked about it."

Lopez and Rodriguez shared how they spent their time at home on social media, including adorable insight into their family Easter. In April 2020, the latter posted a video on Instagram that showed J.Lo had set up an Easter egg hunt. The adorable clip showed their kids running around their yard looking for eggs before J.Lo handed out elaborate gift baskets to the children. "Jen put together an amazing Egg Hunt that the kids absolutely loved and dominated," A-Rod wrote in the caption.

Despite taking a little time off, Jennifer Lopez still put in plenty of work around the time of Hustlers' release and her Super Bowl show, as well as in the months that followed. She focused on her music and also worked on another movie, Marry Me. Per Elle, Marry Me also stars Owen Wilson and singer Maluma, and would have seen J.Lo return to the big screen in 2021. It was initially set to be released in May 2021, but, per Deadline, the pandemic pushed the release date back to February 2022. Producer Elaine Goldsmith Thomas confirmed on Instagram that filming wrapped in November 2019.

Lopez also worked hard on new music in 2020. She and Maluma dropped two songs to promote Marry Me before the release date was postponed, releasing the tracks "Pat Ti" and "Lonely" — in which the two sing in Spanish and English — in September 2020 alongside an elaborate extended music video for both songs. Lopez also released the solo single "In The Morning" in November 2020 alongside another music video, which she said on Instagram was "full of symbolism." Not only that, but she also put plenty of time into creating her own beauty products under her JLo Beauty line, with Lopez confirming on Instagram that her business venture would officially launch in January 2021, while calling it "a 30-year dream."