Some of Jennifer Lopez's critically-acclaimed films include An Unfinished Life and Shall We Dance?. Two independent films produced by Lopez were well-received at film festivals: El Cantante at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Bordertown at the Brussels film festival. Her modestly successful film includes Monster-in-Law (2005). Gigli, however, would become a notorious box office bomb. In August 2007, Lopez collaborated on the feature film, El Cantante, with her husband singer-actor Marc Anthony. The film is in English, with a creative use of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics. In 2010, Jennifer Lopez appeared in the romantic comedy The Back-Up Plan.

Serena Williams did not play a tournament in 1996. In 1997, she lost in the qualifying rounds of her first three tournaments before winning her first main-draw match in November at the Ameritech Cup Chicago. Ranked World No. 304, she upset World No. 7 Mary Pierce and World No. 4 Monica Seles, recording her first career wins over Top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the open era to defeat two Top 10 opponents in one tournament. She ultimately lost in the semifinals to World No. 5 Lindsay Davenport. Serena Williams finished 1997 ranked World No. 99.