Jennifer Shrader Lawrence was born on August 15, 1990, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Karen (née Koch), a camp manager, and Gary Lawrence, who owned a concrete construction firm. She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine. Lawrence began acting in local theater productions and church plays as a child.
Lawrence’s professional acting career began in 2006 with guest appearances on television shows such as Company Town, Medium, and Monk. Her first major role was as Lauren Pearson on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007–2009).
Lawrence gained wider recognition for her performance in the independent drama Winter’s Bone (2010), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. This role established her as a serious dramatic actress.
Her career trajectory surged with the role of Mystique in X-Men: First Class (2011), a role she reprised in subsequent X-Men films. However, her most significant mainstream success came with the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015). This franchise cemented her status as a global movie star.
Lawrence won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). She has received further Academy Award nominations for her roles in American Hustle (2013) and Joy (2015), demonstrating her consistent critical acclaim.