During the E! People’s Choice Awards on Sunday night, Jennifer Lopez was moved to tears as she accepted the People’s Icon Award.

After being introduced by actor Armie Hammer, and a montage of her decades-long career was shown, Lopez took the stage at the Barker Hangar in a gorgeous red dress to accept her award.

When Lopez got onstage, she was surprised by heartfelt video messages from people close to her, including Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman. However, it was a message from her 12 year-old twins Emme and Max that really made her tear up.

“2020 was no joke, right?” Lopez said as she wiped away tears. “I mean before 2020, we were obsessing about winning this award, getting nominated for that award. We were caught up on who sold the most records or who had the biggest box office opening.”

“But this year was the great leveler,” she added. “It showed us what mattered, what didn’t, and for me, reinforced what matters most: people. All of us.”

Lopez went on to talk about the challenges that she’s faced throughout her career.

“Sometimes my big dreams and my ambitions made the people around me nervous,” she said. “People would say, ‘You’re a dancer, you can’t be an actress. You’re an actress, what, you want to sing? You’re an artist, you won’t be taken seriously as a businesswoman.'”

“The more they said I couldn’t, the more I knew that I had to,” Lopez added. “So now, here I stand, so very grateful, knowing that the true measure of my success is not in box office numbers or records sold but from the love that I feel from all of you.”

After thanking her fans, Lopez walked offstage as more message of love for her were shown from people like Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington, Jane Fonda, Matthew McConaughey and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Entertainment Tonight reported that Lopez earned herself this award by excelling in acting, singing, dancing, and many other things as well.

“Jennifer Lopez has an unmatched global appeal and for more than two decades, has given us some of the most iconic, unforgettable performances of all time,” Jen Neal, General Manager of E! News, Live Events & Lifestyle Digita

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

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