Jennifer Lopez retains having to remind Judy Robles that she deserves all the eye she’s been getting because the pair promote “Unstoppable.” The inspirational sports activities drama has been incomes awards buzz, and at screenings, Robles has been greeted with standing ovations. Audiences are clearly impressed by how efficiently this single mother raised her son, Anthony, regardless of having to endure monetary hardships and an abusive relationship.

“I inform her on a regular basis, ‘You have to personal who you’re and what you’ve carried out,’” Lopez says. “You’re inspiring each mom who has ever struggled. You actually have triumphed. You’ve raised a son who has turn out to be a frontrunner, and also you deserve credit score.’ However she’s very humble.”

Anthony, as “Unstoppable” watchers know, turned a school wrestling champ, an inconceivable accomplishment provided that he was born with just one leg. Judy was there on the sidelines, unexpectedly studying the identical lesson she tried to show him: you may obtain something in the event you work exhausting sufficient. After Anthony graduated, Judy went again to high school, incomes a bachelor’s and grasp’s diploma, ultimately turning into an affiliate athletic director at ASU.

Lopez associated to her character’s journey. “We have been kindred spirits,” Lopez says. “We each grew up Latina on this nation. We each had youngsters and have hopes and desires for them. We each had difficult relationships, which left us holding our households collectively.”

“Unstoppable” has scored Lopez a few of the greatest critiques of her profession, reminding audiences that “Jenny from the Block” is a proficient, nuanced performer, along with being a pop icon.

“I used to be nervous to satisfy her,” confesses Jharrel Jerome, who performs Anthony within the movie. “Rising up Dominican within the Bronx, she was an necessary determine in my home. However then once we began working collectively, that went away, and she or he turned this wonderful scene accomplice. She simply needed to get it proper,” he says.

That drive for perfection has propelled Lopez to the highest of Hollywood’s A-list. And it’s the explanation why she’s being honored with the Legend & Groundbreaker Award on the 2025 Palm Springs Worldwide Movie Competition.

“I’m humbled; I’m blown away,” Lopez says of the award. “However I nonetheless have a lot extra to do. I’m on the midway mark. I really feel like my greatest work is in entrance of me. My largest initiatives are in entrance of me, and my largest successes. The whole lot is sooner or later.”

A kind of initiatives is “Kiss of the Spider Lady,” an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical that can debut on the Sundance Movie Competition. Lopez play Aurora, a basic display screen siren who exists within the creativeness of Luis Molina, a homosexual hairdresser, who retreats into fantasies whereas trapped in an Argentine jail.

“It’s in all probability my favourite film expertise,” Lopez says. “It’s a movie about how love transcends the whole lot — the toughest circumstances, gender, social prejudices. The whole lot.”

Aurora and Judy Robles are a part of a protracted line of empowered, flinty protagonists that Lopez has performed in movies as various as “Out of Sight,” “Selena” and “Hustlers.” There’s a cause she’s drawn to that kind of function.

“Ladies are sturdy,” Lopez says. “Now we have to be. From the minute ladies are born, we’re at all times having to show ourselves, to point out we’re ok. That creates a sort of power. After which a whole lot of us give beginning — and there’s nothing that makes you stronger than doing that.”