Perez: 'I discovered Jennifer Lopez'

Actress Rosie Perez has insisted that she was the first person to discover Jennifer Lopez's 'star quality', despite what the singer has to say.

Perez was working on US comedy show In Living Colour when J.Lo was hired as a Fly Girl dancer on the programme in 1990, giving her her first big break. She then went on to appear as a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson.

Lopez has now become the highest paid Latin actress in Hollywood history, with an estimated wealth of $250 million, after selling millions of albums and starring in numerous movies.

American star Perez is now insistent that she was the first person to hire Lopez - helping her become the star that she is today.

She told PageSix: "I'm the one that hired Jennifer Lopez, even though she tells everyone Keenan Ivory Wayans was. He didn't want her because she was overweight and didn't dance well, but I said, 'She has star quality.'"