The risky move that saved Jennifer Lopez's Hollywood career

Jennifer Lopez is back in favour with Hollywood and has a new movie coming out but she says there was a time not a lot of offers were coming her way. Photo / Getty Images

She's worth $400 million, has a new movie coming out, and a hugely successful tour.

And there's one role that Jennifer Lopez credits with reviving her career … and it's a job no one wanted her to take.

"Everybody was like, 'Don't do this. Your career will be over, and they won't offer you any movies. They'll think you're a joke as an artist,'" Lopez told Variety.

"And I was like, 'The truth is, I'm not getting offered a whole bunch of movies, so what are they not going to offer me?'"

Jennifer Lopez in a scene from her new movie Hustlers, which opens in New Zealand on October 10th.

The role was as a judge on American Idol, which Lopez, 50, held for five seasons of the TV talent search.

The job, Lopez said, came about at the right time.

"It was a big turning point in my career," she told Variety, while promoting her upcoming film, Hustlers.

"I had the kids and wasn't being offered a whole bunch of stuff.

"I was going around with Marc (Anthony, her ex-husband). I went on two or three tours with him."

Lopez says her stint as a judge on American Idol was a turning point in her career. Photo / Getty Images

It led to a massive comeback for the Jenny From the Block singer, who is back in favour in Hollywood as an actor, in an industry that hasn't always been supportive. Early on in her career, the famously curvy star was told by Hollywood bosses that she couldn't sing and act and that she had a "really big" bum.

"It was just a double standard of being a woman. It's not a mystery," Lopez confessed.

"They would never say to a guy, 'Your d*** is really big.'"

Her latest role is in Hustlers, co-starring Cardi B and Riverdale's Lili Reinhart, where Lopez plays a tough-talking strip club boss. The movie, set in New York, is set around the 2008 global financial crisis.

"There are so many smart, talented women out there, in front of and behind the camera, and I think we're at a point where our voices are not stifled as much," Lopez said.

Hustlers co-stars Keke Palmer, Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu and Lili Reinhart. Photo / Getty Images

J-Lo announced her engagement to long-time boyfriend, former Yankees baseball star A-Rod (aka Alex Rodriguez) in March.

Rodriguez proposed with a $5 million ring in the Bahamas, though Lopez said the couple "haven't really planned it (their wedding) yet".

"You know, the rest of this year, I have another movie, I have a TV show, I have kids, I have an album," Lopez told Extra.

Set during the 2008 global financial crisis, Hustlers stars Lopez as a tough-talking strip club boss.

"I have a lot of things … Alex has baseball for the rest of the year."

Hustlers is out in New Zealand on October 10.