Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. 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. During her childhood, Lawrence performed in church plays and school musicals. At age fourteen, she was spotted by a talent scout while vacationing in New York City with her family. She moved to Los Angeles and began her acting career 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 mystery drama Winter's Bone (2010). Lawrence's career progressed with starring roles as 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 of all time. Lawrence received various accolades for her three collaborations with filmmaker David O. Russell. Her performance as a troubled young widow in the romance film Silver Linings Playbook (2012) won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the second-youngest winner in the category at age 22. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing an unpredictable wife in the black comedy American Hustle (2013). Lawrence also received Golden Globe Awards for both of these films, and for her portrayal of 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. She returned with the streaming films Don't Look Up (2021) and Causeway (2022). Lawrence is a feminist and advocates for women's reproductive rights. In 2015, she founded the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation, which advocates for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Special Olympics. She 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. 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. She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine. 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. Lawrence was educated at the Kammerer Middle School in Louisville. She did not enjoy her childhood due to hyperactivity and social anxiety, and considered herself a misfit among her peers. She has said that her anxieties vanished when performing on stage and that acting gave her a sense of accomplishment. Her school activities included cheerleading, softball, field hockey and basketball, which she played on a boys' team coached by her father. Growing up, Lawrence was fond of horseback riding and frequently visited a local horse farm. She has an injured tailbone as a result of being thrown from a horse. When her father worked from home, she performed for him, often dressing up as a clown or ballerina. She 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. 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. 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. 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. Lawrence said her early experiences were difficult because she felt lonely and friendless. 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, which she considered a "natural fit" for her abilities, and turned down several modeling offers. She dropped out of school at 14 without receiving a General Educational Development (GED) or diploma. She has described herself as "self-educated" and said that her career was her priority. Between her acting jobs in the city, she made regular visits to Louisville, where she was an assistant nurse at her mother's camp.