Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, she appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world list in 2013 and the Forbes Celebrity 100 list from 2013 to 2016.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence Maroney[1]
Actress
2006–present
- Excellent Cadaver
- Jennifer Lawrence Foundation
1
Lawrence began her career as a teenager with guest roles on television. Her first major role was as a main cast member on the sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007–2009). She made her film debut with a supporting role in the drama Garden Party (2008), and had her breakthrough playing a poverty-stricken teenager in the independent film Winter's Bone (2010). Lawrence gained stardom portraying the mutant Mystique in the X-Men film series (2011–2019) and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015). The latter made her the highest-grossing action heroine.
Lawrence collaborated with filmmaker David O. Russell on three films, which earned her various accolades. For portraying a troubled young widow in the romance Silver Linings Playbook (2012), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the second-youngest winner in the category at age 22. Lawrence won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing an unpredictable wife in the black comedy American Hustle (2013). She also received Golden Globe Awards for both, and for portraying businesswoman Joy Mangano in the biopic Joy (2015). A series of mixed reviewed films and the media scrutiny of her role choices led to a small break from acting. Lawrence returned with the streaming film Don't Look Up (2021), after which she produced and starred in the drama Causeway (2022) and the comedy No Hard Feelings (2023).
Lawrence is a feminist and advocates for women's reproductive rights.[2] In 2015, she founded the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation, which advocates for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Special Olympics. Lawrence formed the production company Excellent Cadaver in 2018. She is an active member of the nonpartisan nonprofit anti-corruption organization RepresentUs and has served as a spokesperson in its videos about protecting democracy.[3][4]
Early life and education
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence was born on August 15, 1990, in Indian Hills, Kentucky, to Gary, a construction company owner, and Karen (née Koch), a summer camp manager.[5][6][7] She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine.[6] Her mother raised her to be "tough" like her brothers, and would not allow her to play with other girls in preschool, as she deemed her "too rough" with them.[8] Lawrence was educated at the Kammerer Middle School in Louisville.[8] She did not enjoy her childhood due to hyperactivity and social anxiety, and considered herself a misfit among her peers.[6][9] Lawrence has said that her anxieties vanished when performing on stage and that acting gave her a sense of accomplishment.[9] Her school activities included cheerleading, softball, field hockey and basketball, which she played on a boys' team coached by her father.[8]
Growing up, Lawrence was fond of horseback riding and frequently visited a local horse farm.[10] She has an injured tailbone as a result of being thrown from a horse.[11] When her father worked from home, she performed for him, often dressing up as a clown or ballerina.[12] Lawrence had her first acting assignment at age nine, playing a prostitute in a church play based on the Book of Jonah. For the next few years, she continued taking parts in church plays and school musicals.[8]
Lawrence was 14 and on a family vacation in New York City when she was spotted on the street by a talent scout, who arranged for her to audition for talent agents.[13][14] Her mother was not keen on her pursuing an acting career, but she briefly moved her family to New York to let Lawrence read for roles.[8] After her first cold reading, the agents said that hers was the best they had heard from someone so young; however, her mother convinced her that they were lying.[14] Lawrence said her early experiences were difficult because she felt lonely and friendless.[8] She signed with CESD Talent Agency, which convinced her parents to let her audition for roles in Los Angeles. While her mother encouraged her to go into modeling, she insisted on pursuing acting,[15] which she considered a "natural fit" for her abilities, and turned down several modeling offers.[13] She dropped out of school at 14 without receiving a General Educational Development (GED) or diploma. Lawrence has described herself as "self-educated" and said that her career was her priority.[16] Between her acting jobs in the city, she made regular visits to Louisville, where she was an assistant nurse at her mother's camp.[17]
Personal life
During filming of X-Men: First Class in 2010, Lawrence began dating her co-star Nicholas Hoult. Their relationship ended around the time they wrapped filming X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014.[176][177] In September 2016, she began dating filmmaker Darren Aronofsky after they had met during filming of Mother![178] They broke up in November 2017.[179]
In 2018, she began a relationship with Cooke Maroney, an art gallery director. They became engaged in February 2019[180][181] and married that October in Rhode Island.[182] As of May 2019, they reside in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City and in Beverly Hills, California.[183] In February 2022, Lawrence gave birth to their son, Cy, named for American artist Cy Twombly.[124]
Lawrence was one of the victims of the 2014 celebrity nude photo leak, in which several private nude pictures of her were hacked and posted online.[184] She emphasized that the photos were never meant to go public, calling the leak a "sex crime" and a "sexual violation", and added that viewers of the images should be ashamed of themselves for "perpetuating a sexual offense".[185] Lawrence further said her pictures had been intended for Hoult during their relationship, and that unlike other victims of the incident, she did not plan to sue Apple Inc.[176]
Lawrence is an Academy Awards winner, winning the award for Best Actress at the 85th Academy Awards in 2012. She has been nominated a further three times by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for the following performances:
Additionally, she has won three Golden Globe Awards; Best Actress – Comedy or Musical for Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and Joy (2015), and Best Supporting Actress for American Hustle (2013). She also won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for American Hustle.[69][78][93]