Jennifer Lawrence:
More Than Just Katniss Everdeen

Jennifer Lawrence is a rare example in Hollywood of an actress who manages to be both a blockbuster icon and a serious dramatic actress. She burst onto the big stage with her role as Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games”, becoming the face of an entire generation, but quickly proved she was capable of more by winning an Oscar at just 22 years old for the film “Silver Linings Playbook”.

She is admired not only for her talent, but also for her “anti-star” image. In a world of perfect glamour, Lawrence has become famous for her authenticity: she isn’t afraid to appear clumsy, speaks honestly about her love of food and her hatred of diets, and her stumbles on the red carpet have almost become her trademark. She is equally at home in the blue makeup of Mystique from “X-Men” as she is in deep, auteur-driven projects, while remaining as “down-to-earth” as possible for millions of viewers.

If you look at her journey in film, it’s a real roller coaster: from gritty independent dramas to billion-dollar franchises and back again. It all began when she literally forced Hollywood to take notice of her in “Winter’s Bone”, where she played a girl from the harsh wilderness. There was no glamour there—just dirt, cold, and her incredible gaze, which immediately earned her her first Oscar nomination.

And then came the real breakthrough. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t seen her holding a bow in “The Hunger Games”. The role of Katniss turned her into the leading lady of the decade, but Jennifer didn’t get stuck in just one role. At the same time, she managed to don blue makeup for “X-Men” and work with director David O. Russell, who revealed her as the queen of “complex women.” It was during this time that she delivered a powerhouse trio of  “Silver Linings Playbook”, for which she won an Oscar, “American Hustle”, and “Joy”. She played characters who were constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she did it with such intensity that it was impossible to look away from the screen.

The People of X

The People of X

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

At some point, Jen embarked on some daring experiments. There was Aronofsky’s rather strange and unsettling parable “Mama!”, and the chilling thriller “Red Sparrow”. After a short hiatus, she returned a different person—more calm and ironic. We saw her in the satire “Don’t Look Up”, where she freaked out over a comet hurtling toward Earth, and in the very quiet, intimate drama “Bridge Across the Lake”, which reminded everyone of her talent for deep psychological cinema. And just recently, she surprised everyone by bursting onto the scene in the irreverent comedy “No Hard Feelings”, proving that her self-deprecating humor is just as sharp as it was at the beginning of her career.