The early 1990s found Lopez in a succession of short-lived television shows, including South Central, Hotel Malibu, and the more, while she continued to dance in music videos, including Janet Jackson's "That's the Way Love Goes" in 1993.

In 1995 Lopez got her first movie role in Mi Familia, and made the movie Money Train with Wesley Snipes shortly thereafter. She was the first Latina actress to get a one million dollar role, in the 1997 biopic Selena. In the late 1990s through 2003, she saw a spate of films, including Anaconda, U-Turn, Out of Sight, Antz, The Cell, The Wedding Planner, Angel Eyes, and Enough.  These roles elevated her asking price from the low seven figures to 12 million dollars for the 2003 flop, Gigli, which she made with then-boyfriend Ben Affleck.