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Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress who portrays Katniss Everdeen in the The Hunger Games film and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.[1]

Biography

Jennifer Lawrence was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, to Karen (née Koch), a children's camp manager, and Gary Lawrence, who owns Lawrence & Associates, a construction company. She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine, and is of English, German, Irish, and Scottish descent. In school, she was prescribed medication for social anxiety and hyperactivity. She acted in local theater and, by the age of 14, had decided to pursue an acting career, persuading her parents to take her to New York City to find a talent agent. Prior to finding success in Hollywood, Lawrence attended Kammerer Middle School in Louisville. She graduated from high school two years early with a 3.9 average, aiming at a career in acting. While growing up and in between acting, Lawrence served as an assistant nurse at the children's summer day camp, which her mother ran.

Career

Lawrence's most famous roles to date are in Winter's Bone, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Winter's Bone, but ended up winning that same award for Silver Linings Playbook. She also won the Golden Globe for best supporting actress in American Hustle. She has starred in several other major films such as The House at the End of the Street,'The Burning Plain, The Poker House, and X-Men: First Class. She is also set to reappear in the sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past.

She placed 10th in PopSugar's PopSugar 100 Top 10 Rising Stars released in June 2011.[2]

Katniss

Jennifer Lawrence on Hunger Games set

Lawrence on the set of The Hunger Games.

Lawrence's casting as Katniss was approved by author Suzanne Collins and director Gary Ross in defense of some speculation that she might be too old for the role.[3] For her audition she played the scene where she is pleading with her mother to speak after her father's death. On May 18, 2011, Entertainment Weekly revealed on their magazine cover the very first photo of her as Katniss Everdeen.[4] Lawrence almost dropped out of the film due to an injury on set, but handled it and continued to play Katniss. While goofing around on the set with co-star Josh Hutcherson, Lawrence accidentally kicked him in the head, giving him a concussion. However he downplayed its effects to continue filming.

It has been confirmed that a file of Lawrence's vocals were used for the soundtrack of The Hunger Games film.

She was awarded "Best Female Performance" at the MTV Movie Awards for her role as Katniss.

She is very close friends with her co-star, Josh Hutcherson, although they are not dating. Lawrence and Hutcherson were raised in towns close to one another. Hutcherson is the reason her parents allowed her to pursue acting.

External links

References

  1. Joshua Weinstein (03-16-2011). Exclusive: Jennifer Lawrence Gets Lead Role in 'The Hunger Games'. The Wrap. Retrieved on 03-16-2011.
  2. PopSugar 100: Your Top 10 Rising Stars!
  3. Brian Gallagher (03-18-2011). The Hunger Games Director Gary Ross Defends Jennifer Lawrence Casting. MovieWeb. Retrieved on April 26, 2011.
  4. This Week's Cover: First look at Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in 'The Hunger Games' -- Exclusive. Entertainment Weekly. (05-18-2011). Retrieved on 05-19-2011.
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