Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos are reuniting on a project nearly three decades since filming “Selena.” In a March 2025 Instagram post, Lopez reminisced on her role in the 1997 biopic, where she played the titular Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the iconic, real-life Tejano singer whose fame was cut short when she was murdered — Olmos played Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla. Now, the actor will star next to Lopez in the upcoming Netflix rom-com “Office Romance.”
“From ‘Selena’ to now, this journey has come full circle,” Lopez wrote in the caption under the sweet then-versus-now photos of the pair. The details of the post were quickly overshadowed by the timely manner of when it was posted. Whether it was intentional, as fans are looking at it, Lopez posted her “Selena” throwback the day it was announced that the real-life singer’s killer, Yolanda Saldivar, was denied parole. Fans of JLo couldn’t help but notice (and love) how the post came off as a subtle jab at Selena’s killer.
“Announcing this the same day Yolanda is denied parole is DELICIOUS,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Talk about perfect timing,” someone said, with another echoing: “Perfect timing — couldn’t be better.”
Jennifer Lopez was honored to play Selena
The 1997 biopic details the true and tragic story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez’s untimely murder in 1995 at the height of her music career. Her contributions to the music industry, with hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and “I Could Fall in Love,” landed her the title of Queen of Tejano Music. On March 31, 1995, Selena was shot in the back by Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her fan club and manager of her Texas-based boutique, Selena Etc. Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison, and as of March 2025, she is serving said sentence without the possibility of parole.
On the 25th anniversary of the film, Jennifer Lopez posted on Instagram, explaining how meaningful it was to her to play the singer. “Selena and her family mean so much to me, and I was so lucky to be chosen to play her,” she wrote. “I’ll never forget this time in my life and it’s an honor as an artist to have been part of the magic that is this movie.” In one clip she shared from an interview with Oprah, Lopez described her fervent research on the musician, from listening to her music to watching videos all day before filming. Decades later, Lopez is still keeping Selena’s memory alive.
