Trivia

Famous for her landmark Latina role of Diana Morales in "A Chorus Line" and the songs "Nothing" and "What I Did for Love" from the show. Many consider the part of Morales the first three-dimensional Puerto Rican character to be witnessed on Broadway.

Was a child extra in the film West Side Story (1961).

Not related to Jennifer Lopez, who played her daughter in Maid in Manhattan (2002).

Met husband Vincent Fanuele while performing in the musical "Company". He was playing trombone in the orchestra.

Her career began in the Fort Greene housing projects of Brooklyn when her mother prodded her to take dance lessons. She attended the renowned High School of the Performing Arts. By age 13 she was out looking for work.

Recently she and her other original 1975 "A Chorus Line" cast received compensation for the ongoing Broadway revival. They all had originally sold their dancer stories to director/choreographer Michael Bennett for $1 each. Bennett then created "A Chorus Line" from these stories. The famed director, who died in 1987, later modified the agreement to include some royalties, but a debate over compensation had continued until February of 2008, when it was settled for undisclosed terms.

First Broadway musical she was hired for was "Breakfast at Tiffany's" when she was 18. It flopped and closed before opening night.

Lost out to fellow "Chorus Line" player Kelly Bishop for the supporting Tony Award in 1975.

Gave up dancing in the mid-1980s.

Aunt of playwright Matthew López, who in 2021 became the first Latino playwright to win a Tony Award for Best Play for "The Inheritance.".

On Broadway in the millennium with "Anna in the Tropics" starring Jimmy Smits, the story about Cuban cigar factory workers, and the musical "In the Heights", as a mother of a close-knit Latino family in Manhattan.

Won Broadway's 1980 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Musical) for "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine." She was also nominated in 1976 in the same category for the original production of "A Chorus Line.".

She has two children, Alex Fanuele, and Gabriella Fanuele, both of whom are pursuing acting.

Daughter of Franciso Lopez, and Laura Candelaria Lopez.