If J-Lo Had Become a Lawyer, You Wouldn't Be Able to Afford Her

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - She considered a career as a lawyer, and at one point was studying business in college. Either way, it would have meant the loss of one of the music world's most talented and versatile superstars.

"Driven: Jennifer Lopez" brings the singer-actress-dancer's unknown past to life with new interviews of those special people who played a part in her development as an artist and individual - plus fascinating video and photos that the public has never seen - providing a rare glimpse at what she was really like.
The latest episode of the new VH1 weekly series, "Driven: Jennifer Lopez" premieres Tuesday, February 19 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

There's no such thing as overnight success - over time, like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces are added, small breakthroughs are made, and eventually the picture of a pop star begins to take shape. VH1's "Driven" traces that process from childhood to the first glimmer of stardom, through the eyes of those who knew the artist best and helped play pivotal roles in their development, examining the stars' blueprints for success and what propelled them to achieve it despite the obstacles that lay in their paths.

"Driven: Jennifer Lopez" spotlights rare and never-before-seen video footage of her earliest performances on stage and TV (including a high-school production of "Godspell" and a 1989 performance as a dancer on "Yo! MTV Raps" with Fab 5 Freddy and MC Hammer), plus rare family photos of her childhood and school years in The Bronx. And new interviews with family members, friends from high school and college, dance instructors, fellow dancers, teachers and colleagues, among others, shed light on the superstar's formative years - long before the successes of "Selena," "Out of Sight," "The Wedding Planner" and "J-Lo."

'Driven: Jennifer Lopez' Spotlights Exclusive, Rare and Never-Before-Seen Footage and Photos, Plus New Interviews With Friends, Family, Colleagues And Others

Highlights of "Driven: Jennifer Lopez" include:

Lizamarie Campoamor, high-school and college friend: "Jen never kept to herself. If Jen had something to say, she said it, but she was not a rude person. She didn't put someone down in getting her point across ... And she always stuck by her guns."

Rebecca Anderson, fellow dancer at Phil Black Studio: "I think her mom wanted her to be a lawyer ... to have a secure job with a pension ... Her mother wanted her to think of the future, and there was a strain that way between the two of them."

Des Calderon, Jennifer's dance instructor at Phil Black Studio: "She had a part-time job, working for a lawyer ... and then she was also going to school at Baruch College. And that's why she was missing classes so much."

Patrick Connallon, religion teacher at Preston High School: "I think if Jennifer put her mind to be a lawyer, she'd be an excellent lawyer. It was that combination of drive and passion and ambition and intelligence that if she wanted to do something, she would do it."

Des Calderon: "I turned to her and I said, 'You have to drop out of school. You are too talented to be going to business school.' I mean, who goes to business school?"

Tony Duran, photographer: "There's so many people in the world who will say, 'You're not deserving of this, that and the other.' There's nothing she's not deserving of, because she's willing to work for it -- and it's not that she demands it, it's that she will work for it ... If she said she wanted to be an astronaut tomorrow and be the first actress on the moon or whatever, I would have no doubt she would do it."

Patrick Connallon: "I do recall Jennifer saying that she did want to get into the entertainment business, and at the time-- although she was clearly talented -- you never think in that situation that, okay, this person is going to become this fabulous star."