Just a few years ago, Jennifer Lawrence was everywhere. If not demanding all attention on the big screen, then peering out from billboards and glossy fashion magazines. Her allure was impossible to resist, and while she’s long been known for her acting chops with an Oscar to her name already at the tender age of just 32-years-old, perhaps what has made her all the more endearing to fans is her personable charm; she’s straight-talking and self-deprecating, appearing as the glamorous Hollywood actor she is without a hand out to distance herself from strangers. Instead, Lawrence comes across as the friend we all want to be and wish we had, something the actor has continued to spark thanks to her vulnerability and openness.
Now, Lawrence is once again getting candid with fans and film-goers alike. In a recent interview with Variety, the actor opened up about her mental health and personal experience with burnout as she said after starring int he first instalment of The Hunger Games, she felt she lost control of her career.
“I think I lost a sense of self control. Between The Hunger Games coming out and winning the Oscar [for Silver Linings Playbook],” she told Variety. “I became such a commodity that I felt like every decision was a big, big group decision.”
To put things into perspective, Lawrence starred in a staggering eight films between 2012 and 2015, two years that coincide with the first and last films of The Hunger Games series. It’s understandable then, with such a work schedule, that the actor expressed a feeling of burnout throughout much of it. “When I reflect now, I can’t think of those following years, [because there was] just a loss of control,” says Lawrence.
It led Lawrence to step away from the camera, taking a hiatus from acting. In 2022, Lawrence welcomed a baby boy, something that was made all the more special due to her previous experiences with miscarriage in the past. In taking that time away from acting though, Lawrence managed to reclaim not only time to herself, but also reclaim her identity as she worked to define who she was as a person – not merely Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar-winning actor. Speaking about this time in her life now, she says: “It feels personal for me for the first time in a long time.”
Naturally, the time off has also been well spent with her child as Lawrence adapts to this new period of life as a mum. Speaking about becoming a mum for the first time, she expressed that she had fears she wouldn’t love her baby as much as her cat. “It’s so scary to talk about motherhood. Only because it’s so different for everybody,” she said in an interview with Vogue. “Fortunately, I have so many girlfriends who were honest. Who were like, ‘It’s scary. You might not connect right away. You might not fall in love right away.’ So I felt so prepared to be forgiving.”
“I remember walking with one of my best friends at, like, nine months, and being like, ‘Everyone keeps saying that I will love my baby more than my cat. But that’s not true. Maybe I’ll love him as much as my cat?’”
jennifer lawrence
But even despite her concerns, Lawrence admits that she did fall in love with her son right away. “The morning after I gave birth, I felt like my whole life had started over. Now is day one of my life. I just stared. I was just so in love.”
Speaking about how parenthood has changed her, Lawrence said: “My heart has stretched to a capacity that I didn’t know about.”
Finding help
In order to help support Australians suffering with poor mental health, Lifeline has been offering support and suicide prevention services for the last 59 years through phone, text and online chat, Lifeline’s 24-hour service.
To make a difference, you can donate to Lifeline to support the 10,000 volunteers and 1,000 employees working to ensure that no person in Australia faces their darkest moments alone.
If you or someone you know needs help, phone 13 11 14 (24/7), text 0477 13 11 14 (24/7) or chat at www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat (24/7).
