Jennifer Lawrence
Birthdate: Aug 15, 1990
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Jennifer Lawrence (birthname: Jennifer Shrader Lawrence) can claim to be the most successful female screen actor of her generation, and the first born in the 1990s to win the Best Actress Oscar. Her stellar and lucrative career is partly based on her two recurring starring and co-starring roles in two blockbuster franchises—as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games and as Raven/Mystique in X-Men.
Lawrence’s feature debut was a supporting role in writer-director Jason Freeland’s indie drama, Garden Party (2008), followed by Lawrence scoring a co-lead position in the first movie written (with David Alan Grier) and directed by actor Lori Petty, The Poker House (2008, later titled Behind Closed Doors), with Selma Blair, Bokeem Woodbine, David Alan Grier, and Chloë Grace Moretz, with Lawrence winning her first acting prize for outstanding performance at the Los Angeles film festival.
Lawrence co-starred with Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger in director-writer Guillermo Arriaga’s drama, The Burning Plain (2008), a commercial and critical dud. By contrast, Jennifer Lawrence enjoyed an astounding career breakthrough with her next starring role as Ree in Debra Granik’s acclaimed indie drama, based on Daniel Woodrell’s novel, Winter’s Bone (2010), with John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, and Tate Taylor, and which premiered at the Sundance film festival, where the movie won the grand jury prize, followed by four Oscar nominations—including a Best Actress nod for Lawrence, which made her the second-youngest actor at the time to receive the honor.
Lawrence returned to Sundance in a co-starring role opposite Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones in director-writer Drake Doremus’ Like Crazy (2011), marking Lawrence’s second movie in a row to win Sundance’s grand jury prize. Director-star Jodie Foster cast Lawrence with Mel Gibson and Yelchin in the Kyle Killen-written drama, The Beaver (2011), premiering at the South by Southwest Film Festival but failing at the box office in the wake of Gibson’s battery scandal.
Jennifer Lawrence had her first role in a major studio franchise as Raven/Mystique in the $354 million-grossing X-Men: First Class (2011), directed by Mathew Vaughn, with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon. Lawrence resumed her character in the $746-grossing X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), directed by Bryan Singer, and with new cast members Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Elliot Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellan, and Patrick Stewart.
Lawrence continued her Mystique marathon in the $544-million-grossing X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), again directed by Singer, and with new cast members Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, and Oliva Munn. Lawrence’s last turn as Raven/Mystique was in the $252-million-grossing X-Men bomb, Dark Phoenix (2019), directed and written by the debuting Simon Kinberg, and with new cast members Alexandra Shipp and Jessica Chastain.
Jennifer Lawrence’s other major franchise role was perhaps more significant for her star trajectory: As Katniss Everdeen, first in the $694.4 million-grossing The Hunger Games (2012), co-written (with Hunger Games novelist Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray) and directed by Gary Ross, with Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland, with Lawrence scoring multiple critics prizes for her performance.
Lawrence came back for the $865-million-grossing sequel under Francis Lawrence’s direction, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), with new cast members Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amanda Plummer, Jena Malone, and Jeffrey Wright. Jennifer Lawrence’s third appearance as Katniss followed with the $755.4-million-grossing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 (2014), director Francis Lawrence’s first half of the two-part epic finale, with the second film’s cast returning. Lawrence capped her run as Katniss—which made her the highest-paid actor in the world—with the $653.4-million-grossing finale, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2 (2015), again directed by Francis Lawrence and continuing the cast of the previous entry.
Jennifer Lawrence’s other streak beyond these two franchises was her continuing co-starring collaborations with writer-director David O. Russell, starting with the hit, awards-laden comedy, Silver Linings Playbook (2012), co-starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, and Chris Tucker, with Lawrence becoming the second-youngest Best Actress Oscar winner in history—among the movie’s eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, and marking a near-sweep for Lawrence of best actress awards from the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards.
Lawrence reunited with Russell and co-star Cooper for the dazzling, $251-million-grossing black comedy, American Hustle (2013), inspired by the FBI’s legendary ABSCAM sting operation in the 1970s and 1980s, and featuring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Michael Peña, and Alessandro Nivola, and earning a whopping ten Oscar nominations, including a Best Supporting Oscar pick for Lawrence. In her first starring, non-ensemble role with filmmaker Russell, Jennifer Lawrence starred in the $101-million-grossing biopic, Joy (2015), with De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, and Cooper, earning Lawrence her third Best Actress Oscar nomination in six years.
Many of Jennifer Lawrence’s movies apart from the franchises and with David O. Russell have tended to be less noticed, starting with House at the End of the Street (2012), with Max Theriot, Gil Bellows, and Elisabeth Shue, and making a profit with $44 million. Lawrence’s movie with co-star Bradley Cooper but not with filmmaker David O. Russell was a dud--Serena (2014), directed by Susanne Bier, with Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones, Sean Harris, and Ana Ularu.
Lawrence then enjoyed a hit as star of Sony Pictures’ $303-million-grossing sci-fi drama, Passengers (2016), directed by Morten Tyldum and co-starring Chris Pratt, with Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, and Andy Garcia. In one of her most striking performances in a role meant to be viewed as an allegory for Mother Earth, Jennifer Lawrence played the title role in writer-director Darren Aronofsky’s stark, highly theatrical domestic drama from Paramount Pictures, Mother! (2017), co-starring Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Kristen Wiig.
Lawrence then reunited with director Francis Lawrence for the $151.6 million-grossing spy thriller, Red Sparrow (2018), with Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Jeremy Irons. For the first time, Lawrence joined prolific director-writer-producer Adam McKay as co-star for his climate change-themed allegorical black comedy, Don’t Look Up (2021), with the stellar ensemble of Leonardo DiCaprio, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, and Ariana Grande.
Like Don’t Look Up, the fine drama, Causeway (2022), directed by Lila Neugebauer and co-written by acclaimed novelist Otessa Moshfegh, was a hybrid of limited theatrical release (A24) and streaming release (Apple TV+) which marked Lawrence’s first movie as star and producer, in which she played opposite Brian Tyree Henry (Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor), Linda Emond, and Jayne Houdyshell. In a change of pace, Lawrence starred in one of her lighter projects, the $82.6-million-grossing sex comedy, No Hard Feelings (2023), with Andrew Barth Feldman, Natalie Morales, and Matthew Broderick.
Jennifer Lawrence’s busy career continued with writer-director Gary Ross’ ambitious screen adaptation of John Steinback’s classic, East of Eden (date to be announced), followed by Lawrence working with filmmaker Lynne Ramsay on the intimate, France-set psychological drama, Die, My Love (date to be announced).
Under Morgan Spurlock’s direction, Lawrence portrayed legendary super-agent, Sue Mengers, in the biopic, Sue (date to be announced). Then Lawrence starred in director Luca Guadagnino’s screen version of Hannah Kent’s crime drama, Burial Rites (date to be announced). The next world-class filmmaker to collaborate with Jennifer Lawrence was Italian maestro Paolo Sorrentino for his English-language mafia movie (written by Angelina Burnett and Teresa Carpenter), Mob Girl (date to be announced).
Personal Details
Jennifer Lawrence was born and raised in the Louisville, Kentucky suburb of Indian Hills by parents Gary Lawrence (construction company owner) and Karen Lawrence (summer camp manager). Lawrence has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine. After grade school, Lawrence attended Kammerer Middle School and began to develop a passion for acting, which her mother strongly opposed as a career option—despite Lawrence being spotted and recruited by talent scouts on the streets of New York City.
Lawrence dropped out of school at age 14 without her GED and began to pursue an acting career instead of the modeling career her mother preferred for her. Lawrence has had relationships with actor Nicholas Hoult and writer-director Darren Aronofsky. Lawrence has been married to art gallerist Cooke Maroney since 2019; the couple has one son, named Cy. Lawrence’s height is 5’ 9”. Lawrence’s estimated net worth is $160 million.
Awards
Winner, Best Actress, Academy Awards (2013); Three-time Nominee, Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress, Academy Awards (2011, 2014, 2016); Winner, Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA Awards (2014); Three-time Winner, Best Actress—Comedy or Musical/Best Supporting Actress, Golden Globe Awards (2013-2014, 2016); Two-time Winner, Best Female Actor/Best Cast, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2013-2014); Two-time Winner, Best Musical Moment/Best Hero, MTV Movie + TV Awards (2015-2016); Two-time Winner, Rising Star Award/Ensemble Cast Award, Palm Springs Film Festival Awards (2011, 2014); Winner, Best Supporting Actress, National Society of Film Critics Awards (2014); Winner, Best Female Lead, Independent Spirit Awards (2013); Best Performer of the Year, Santa Barbara Film Festival Awards (2013); Winner, Best Supporting Actress, New York Film Critics Circle Awards (2013); Winner, Best Actress, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (2012); Winner, Best Breakthrough Performer, National Board of Review Awards (2010); Winner, Marcello Mastroianni Award, Venice Film Festival Award (2008).
Critics Choice Award
Critics Choice Awards
Independent Spirit Award
Film Independent Spirit Awards
Filmography
actor
Previous (34)
- 2023 | Die, My Love
- 2023 | Hollywood's Hard Hitters: Women in Action
- 2023 | No Hard Feelings
No Hard Feelings
On the brink of losing her home, Maddie finds an intriguing job listing: helicopter parents looking for someone to bring their introverted 19-year-old son out of his shell before college. She has one summer to make him a man or di...
- 2021 | Don’t Look Up
Don’t Look Up
The story of two low-level astronomers, who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet earth.
- 2019 | Dark Phoenix
- 2019 | X-Men: Dark PhoenixasRaven/Mystique
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix, causing the X-Men to decide if her life is worth more than all of humanity.
- 2018 | Red Sparrow
Red Sparrow
Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to 'Sparrow School,' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her first mission, targeting a C.I.A. agent, threatens to unravel the security of both na...
- 2017 | Bad Blood
- 2017 |
- 2016 | Like Crazy
Like Crazy
Two quite different women escape a mental institution to see Tuscany in a stolen car and get to know each other.
- 2016 | Marita
- 2016 | Untitled Jennifer Lawrence/Amy Schumer Project
- 2016 | Zelda
- 2016 | Passengers
Passengers
A malfunction in a sleeping pod on a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet wakes one passenger 90 years early.
- 2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse
X-Men: Apocalypse
In the 1980s the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive through bringing destruction to the world.
- 2016 | A Beautiful Planet
A Beautiful Planet
An exploration of Earth and beyond as seen from the International Space Station. Narrated by Jennifer Lawrence.
- 2015 | Project Delirium
- 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
- 2015 |
- 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2asKatniss Everdeen
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Katniss and a team of rebels from District 13 prepare for the final battle that will decide the fate of Panem.
- 2014 | Burial Rites
- 2014 | Serena
- 2014 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
- 2014 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1asKatniss Everdeen
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Katniss Everdeen is in District 13 after she shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.
- 2013 | Surviving the Game - Making the Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- 2013 | American HustleasRosalyn Rosenfeld
American Hustle
A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
- 2013 | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
- 2012 | Silver Linings PlaybookasTiffany Maxwell
Silver Linings Playbook
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her ...
- 2012 | House at the End of the Street
House at the End of the Street
After moving with her mother to a small town, a teenager finds that an accident happened in the house at the end of the street. Things get more complicated when she befriends a boy. A double murder is not an accident.
- 2012 | The Hunger GamesasKatniss Everdeen
The Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
- 2011 | X-Men: First Classas MystiqueRaven
- 2010 | Winter's Bone
- 2008 | The Poker House
- 1963 | East of Eden
Some Facts About Jennifer Lawrence
Cyber Victim: Jennifer Lawrence was the victim of a celebrity nude photo leak in 2014, but didn’t sue Apple (as many other celebrities did).
Box-Office Queen: Lawrence is her generation’s top-earning American female actor, with her movies collectively earning $5.5 million globally.
Oscar Streak: Jennifer Lawrence had an extraordinary run with the Oscars, earning four acting nominations and one win (for Silver Linings Playbook) in a six-year period from 2011 to 2016.
