Jennifer Lawrence

ABOUT JENNIFER LAWRENCE

Despite not having any professional training, Jennifer Lawrence became one of Hollywood's most sought after and respected young actresses within five years of beginning her career. After a fairly typical start on television as a cast member of the family sitcom "The Bill Engvall Show" (TBS, 2007-09), she began to show surprising depth with performances in harrowing dramas like "The Poker House" (2008) and "The Burning Plain" (2008). It was, however, Lawrence's magnetic and astonishingly mature turn in the critically acclaimed "Winter's Bone" (2010) that made critics take notice and elevated her status from rising teen starlet to Oscar-worthy actress. In addition to her continued work in smaller, more intimate films, several big-budget features followed for Lawrence, including a supporting role in the superhero adventure "X-Men: First Class" (2011) and the lead in the hotly-anticipated "The Hunger Games" (2012), based on the best-selling young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. Later that same year, the critical darling "Silver Linings Playbook" once again made the talented actress a contender for Hollywood's top awards. Capable of emotionally rich performances and blessed with an undeniable screen presence, Lawrence was well-equipped for a lengthy and diverse career as one of film's premiere talents.

Jennifer Lawrence was born on Aug. 15, 1990 in Louisville, KY. She performed in several local theater productions before heading to New York City at age 14 to become a professional actress. Lawrence quickly landed minor roles on such hit shows as "Monk" (USA Network, 2002-09), and on crime dramas such as "Cold Case" (CBS, 2003-2010), and "Medium" (NBC, 2005-2010). She made the leap to the big screen with starring roles in such low-budget films as "The Poker House" (2008), actress turned writer-director Lori Petty's grim dramatization of her youth, and "Garden Party" (2008), an ensemble melodrama about a group of young, sexually confused teenagers trying to make it big in the shark-infested waters of Hollywood.

But it was Lawrence's compelling performance as Kim Basinger's troubled teen daughter in writer-director Guillermo Arriaga's "The Burning Plain" (2008) that finally began to put the young actress on the critical map. In the little-seen, multi-narrative drama that co-starred Charlize Theron, Lawrence played a 16-year-old who journeys to a New Mexico border town to piece together the puzzle of her parents' shattered lives. At the same time, Lawrence showcased her light comic touch as comic Bill Engvall's daughter on "The Bill Engvall Show" (TBS, 2007-09), a sitcom about a family therapist trying to raise his hard-to-handle brood in a Denver suburb. During her tenure on the relatively popular cable program, Lawrence played a high school girl dealing with typical teenage issues with a depth and believability not usually seen on similar TV fare.

Not long after leaving the Engvall nest, Lawrence turned in one of the year's most riveting performances in the dark thriller "Winter's Bone" (2010), based on the 2007 novel by Daniel Woddrell. A contemporary noir set in Missouri's inhospitable Ozarks Mountains, the film followed Ree Dolly (Lawrence), a strong-willed, impoverished teenager caring for her siblings and ailing mother as she attempts to find her fugitive, meth-addicted father before they lose their home. Lawrence stunned critics with her riveting and realistic portrayal of a young girl struggling to keep the family together, despite the very real threat of physical danger. One of the most talked about films on the festival circuit that year, "Winter's Bone" won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Festival. For her role in the acclaimed feature, Lawrence racked up awards from groups like the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Seattle International Film Festival before receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, making her the second youngest actress to have achieved the honor at the time.

Delayed for nearly two years, due to controversies surrounding its volatile star, Mel Gibson, "The Beaver" (2011) was directed by co-star Jodie Foster and featured Lawrence as a school friend of Porter Black (Anton Yelchin), the son of Gibson's schizophrenic character who uses a hand puppet to communicate with the world. Faring far better at the box office was the superhero blockbuster "X-Men: First Class" (2011), in which a blue-skinned Lawrence played Raven, a young mutant who would later betray her adoptive brother, Xavier (James McAvoy), and become known as the villainous shape-shifter Mystique. She then reteamed with Yelchin for the indie romance "Like Crazy" (2011), where she embodied just one of many complications for a pair of young lovers (Yelchin and Felicity Jones) trying to maintain a long-distance relationship. But it was as the star of the hugely-anticipated "The Hunger Games" (2012) that truly put Lawrence on the mainstream roster of young A-list talent. Based on the first volume of a best-selling trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins, it was a grim yet gripping tale set in a dystopian future where a yearly televised competition pits children against each other in a battle to the death. Lawrence played heroine Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old who bravely volunteers to replace her younger sister as a selectee in the deadly Hunger Games. Benefitting from an established loyal fan base and an expertly deployed marketing campaign, the property was expected to even rival the success of the massively popular "Twilight" franchise.

Unbelievably, "The Hunger Games" exceeded all expectations when it surpassed even "Twilight" numbers, enjoying the third-highest box office opening ever at the time of its release. Lawrence was now officially the most sought after young actress of the day and studios looked to cash in on her popularity as quickly as possible. Filmed two years prior and held back in an effort to ride the "Hunger Games" wave of success, the horror offering "House at the End of the Street" (2012) featured Lawrence as a young woman whose new home sits next to the site of grim tragedy. Although it initially piqued the interest of moviegoers, the B-movie quickly departed theaters. Her next project that year, while a departure from her recent genre material, was a conscious decision to exploit Lawrence's impressive acting range. Written and directed by former enfant terrible David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012) was a romantic dramedy starring Lawrence and Bradley Cooper as a pair of neurotic outcasts who enter into an unlikely friendship. A surprise hit with critics, the simultaneously cynical and bittersweet romance was praised largely for the onscreen chemistry between Lawrence and Cooper. By the end of the year, Lawrence once again found herself on the short list for numerous accolades, including Indie Spirit, SAG and Golden Globe nods for "Silver Linings."

By Bryce Coleman

PARTNERS

Companion

Nicholas Hoult. Met on the set of "X-Men: First Class" (2010)

FAMILY

Brother	Ben. Older
Brother	Blaine. Older
Father	Gary Lawrence. Owned concrete construction firm Lawrence & Associates
Mother	Karen Lawrence. Ran a children's camp

CAREER MILESTONES

2006	Made television debut on "Company Town" (CBS) opposite Sherry Stringfield
2007	Cast as Bill Engvall's unruly teen daughter on TBS family comedy "The Bill Engvall Show"; won Outstanding Young Performers in a TV Series at the Young Artist Awards (2009, shared with co-stars Skyler Gisondo and Graham Patrick Martin)
2008	Earned critical raves with a supporting role opposite Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger in "The Burning Plain"
2010	Delivered breakthrough performance as a tough country girl who goes in search of her missing drug-dealing, deadbeat father in "Winter's Bone"
2011	Co-starred with Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones in romantic drama "Like Crazy"
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama ("Winter's Bone")
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead ("Winter's Bone")
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2011	Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role ("Winter's Bone")
2011	Portrayed Mystique in the prequel to the "X-Men" film series "X-Men: First Class"
2012	Landed starring role of franchise heroine Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games"; feature adapted from Suzanne Collins' 2008 bestseller
2012	Played a young widow opposite Bradley Cooper in David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook"
2012	Starred in horror thriller "House at the End of the Street"