Jennifer Lopez is not a diva

The 40-year-old singer-and-actress claims she is not the difficult star many assume she is and admits she gets upset by the accusations.

She said: "I never like stories where people say I misbehave or act like a diva, because I don?t. Or that I make terrible demands, because those are always fabricated stories, and always have been.

"But they`ve become such a strong part of my image that I have no control over it. They`re not true, though, and that`s always bothered me."

Despite her frustrations, the `Jenny from the Block` hitmaker tries to ignore the more outlandish claims because she knows she is a good person.

She told the New York Daily News newspaper: "You have to keep a sense of humour. There`s something that people want about that diva idea, and I don`t understand it and it bothers me because it`s not the type of person I am, but what can I do?

"What`s always served me throughout my career is that when people get to know me, or talk to me, and they actually get a chance to see what I`m like, it combats the negative stuff - when they get a chance to see who I am as a person and what I`m about, and that I laugh and giggle and that I`m normal. The truth always comes out at the end of the day."

Jennifer - who has two-year-old twins Max and Emme with husband Marc Anthony - also revealed her recent break from acting reinvigorated her career.

She said: "I feel like it`s a new beginning. It`s a bit like when I was a teenager about to embark on this career but it`s much more challenging, difficult and harder.

"I have so much more experience now but I feel just as fresh as I did back then and I`m excited about my life."

sections: Celebrities