She also admits it’s difficult juggling work with raising a family. “Of course I do beat myself up about that. There are times when I’m like, ‘Oh I wasn’t there for the babies when this happened today’ and that’s hard.” But perhaps surprisingly, rather than drawing back, she’s growing in ambition. “I think my goals have just gotten bigger,” she says, later revealing that she’d love a Grammy, an Oscar and another baby (and that’s just for starters).

Having created an empire worth a reported £150 million (as well as American Idol, the music and her film career, there are a handful of bestselling fragrances, a clothes line and her own TV production company), does she see herself as a businesswoman as well as an artist? “Yes definitely. I know a lot of artists with a capital ‘A’ who don’t think about the bottom lines – it’s just the song, the scene, the movie, but that’s not me.

I definitely consider things; I understand what business is and I’m curious and aware of my surroundings. Things will be going on and I’ll be like, ‘Wait a minute, they’re not doing that because of this.’”

I crack a smile. Throughout our interview(s) Jennifer hasn’t ceased to be warm and friendly but for the first time I’ve seen a glimmer of the assertive person that I suspect she might be. Is she just a well-disguised diva? Carefully plucking questions from my list (I’m constantly aware time is ticking), I tactfully ask how easy it has been to stay grounded in this industry.

“I’m not saying there haven’t been moments where I’ve felt bad or it was overwhelming for me or I’ve had to take a minute,” she says, not defensively. “When I became famous it became very difficult for me. I didn’t understand it, nobody in my life had ever gone through it and it was a weird dynamic. It caused me a lot of anxiety. But that’s when I really had to depend on myself. That’s where you need to really tap into those beliefs because being a good person is the first thing.”

Aware that we’re getting closer to debunking the diva myth, I’m dismayed when Jennifer’s publicist tells me my time is up. This time I’ve been allowed a much more respectable 15 minutes and I can’t really argue for anything more – my flight is leaving in under three hours and JFK is beckoning.

After saying my goodbyes, I go to my hotel room to pack my things and bump into Jennifer again in the lobby. Striding to the door in perilously high heels and wrapped in a cream fur coat she doesn’t seem fazed by the blizzard of snow and jostling paparazzi outside; with a whole day’s work done; she’s ticked off a lot of boxes.

Monday 14 March: Los Angeles

It’s nearly six weeks since New York and Jennifer has finished her album. The first single, On The Floor, has also been released and has topped the iTunes chart this morning. Jennifer is apparently on such a high that her publicist has persuaded her to talk to me about it in a third instalment. She’s at her new label, Def Jam, in LA when she calls me and once more, I’m told by her publicist that I’m getting a strict 15 minutes. It strikes me that this is the way Jennifer likes to play it; enough time for a cordial chat and a few anecdotes, but not long enough for a journalist to dig deep.

I kick off by congratulating her on the single and asking how she’s going to celebrate. “Oh, I don’t do celebrating,” she laughs uneasily and I’m struck by how frosty she is. To wound my pride even further, she doesn’t seem to remember me. “Is it nice weather?” I ask, by means of an ice-breaker. “Yeah it’s beautiful,” she says vaguely. I take this as my cue to get down to business.

We talk about Jennifer’s video for On The Floor. One of the things I noticed while watching it is how little Jennifer has changed from her J-Lo days. “Yes, I’m still me!” she says thawing slightly. “It’s me, the same as 10 years ago, but not the same and I’m proud of that.” I comment that it’s a sexy video and she agrees. “Marc has two other sons, one of whom is six years old and he’s always telling me, ‘You don’t look like a mom, you look like a rock chick”’, she says laughing.

I’m surprised when she tells me she hardly ever goes clubbing. “I still love doing it but New Year’s Eve was the last time. I don’t do it like I did when I was single because of the babies but on New Year’s Eve I was up on the couch dancing. Getting out on the floor and letting go has been one of my biggest stories since I started in this business and that girl definitely still exists.”

Working on Idol has also taken her back to her early days in the business. “Watching the contestants sing is like seeing me when I first started, when you hang all your hopes on one thing,” she says. I get the impression that she feels more invested in the series now than she did at the beginning. “What I’ve really loved is that it’s enabled us to have more stability as a family,” she explains. “I’m so happy that I’m filming in LA – the kids are in one place and they can go to art and karate classes. We get to eat dinner together every night at the table and life is a bit more normal.”

She also has a refreshingly down-to earth approach to her marriage, revealing that she and Marc have to work at their relationship. “I’m taking a journey in a real marriage, living these high moments as well as the really tough ones,” she says. “We commit to making it work and that’s why it’s special.” Jennifer has two divorces and a broken engagement behind her (after marrying first husband waiter Ojani Noa in 1997 and dancer Cris Judd in 2001, her engagement to Ben Affleck was called off in 2004) but her publicist has already made it clear that any talk of her previous relationships is strictly off limits.

Realising that I’m nearing my allotted 15 minutes, I say my goodbyes but can’t help but feel disappointed. Although Jennifer has been perfectly pleasant, I feel like it’s been impossible to scratch beyond the surface, making her probably one of the more trickier customers I’ve come across in five years interviewing celebrities (it’s worth noting that my first interviewee was Amy Winehouse, who was as straightforward as they come). One thing’s for sure: the operation has been “seamless” and completely in the control of Jennifer and her people. And I certainly won’t forget it.

From her early days as a backing dancer to marriage to Marc Anthony, see Jennifer's life in pictures here.

Words: Megan Conner, Picture credit: Rex Features

Jennifer Lopez: Back to her Roots