Jennifer Lawrence — Acting | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Jennifer Shrader Maroney (née Lawrence, born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She has starred in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. She was the world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016.

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). In 2008, she made her film debut with a supporting role in the drama Garden Party. She earned the Marcello Mastroianni Award for her performance in The Burning Plain. Her breakthrough came with the role of a poverty-stricken teenager in the independent film Winter's Bone (2010), for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Lawrence achieved international stardom for portraying the mutant Mystique in the X-Men film series (2011–2019) and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series (2012–present). The latter franchise made her character the highest-grossing action heroine of all time.

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 also won a BAFTA Award for her supporting role in the black comedy American Hustle (2013) and a Golden Globe Award for portraying businesswoman Joy Mangano in the biopic Joy (2015). She later starred in the sci-fi romance film Passengers (2016), the psychological horror film Mother! (2017), and the spy thriller Red Sparrow (2018) to varying critical and commercial success. After a hiatus, Lawerence returned to acting with the satirical dark comedy Don't Look Up (2021). She has since starred in the dramas Causeway (2022) and Die My Love (2025), and the comedy No Hard Feelings (2023), all of which she co-produced.

Outside of acting, Lawrence founded the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation in 2015, which advocates for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Special Olympics, and the production company Excellent Cadaver in 2018. She sang lead on the 2014 single "The Hanging Tree", which charted worldwide. She is a feminist and advocates for women's reproductive rights. She is also an active member of the anti-corruption organisation RepresentUs. She is married to gallery director Cooke Maroney, with whom she has two children.

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