Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. Her first major role was as a lead cast member on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007–2009). She subsequently appeared in the independent films The Burning Plain (2008) and Winter's Bone (2010), for which she received nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Satellite Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. At age 20, she was, at the time, the third-youngest actress ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

At age 22, Lawrence's performance in the romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012) earned her the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Satellite Award and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress, amongst other accolades, making her the youngest person ever to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Actress and the second-youngest Best Actress winner.^[1] Her performance in the comedy-drama American Hustle (2013) has earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for the Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Satellite Award and Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress, amongst other accolades.^[2][3][4][5] Lawrence is also known for playing Raven Darkhölme / Mystique in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class, a role she will reprise in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past. Beginning in 2012, she gained international fame for playing the leading heroine, Katniss Everdeen, in the The Hunger Games film series, an adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-sellingtrilogy of novels. Her performance in the films garnered her notable critical praise and marked her as the highest-grossing action heroine to date.

Lawrence's performances thus far have prompted Rolling Stone to call her "the most talented young actress in America."^[8] In 2013, Time named her one of the100 most influential people in the world,^[9] ELLE Magazine named her the most powerful woman in the entertainment business,^[10] and she ranked No. 2 onAskMen's list of Top 99 Most Desirable Women of the year.

Jennifer Lawrence was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, to Lawrence & Associates construction owner Gary Lawrence and children's camp manager Karen (Koch) Lawrence. She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine,^[12][13][14] and is of English, German, Irish, and Scottish descent.^[15] She acted in local theater^[16] 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.^[12][17] While growing up and in between acting, Lawrence served as an assistant nurse at the children's summer day camp that her mother ran.

Donald Sutherland compared Lawrence to Laurence Olivier and also described her as an "exquisite and brilliant actor."^[64] Film director David O. Russell has praised her effortless acting that make her performances look easy.^[65] Lawrence stated "I've always studied people and been fascinated by their reactions and feelings. And I think that's the best acting class you can take – watching real people, listening to them and studying them."^[66]

As of August 2013, Lawrence is dating X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past co-star Nicholas Hoult.^[67] The couple started dating in 2011 after filming X-Men: First Class, but ended their relationship in January 2013, after 2 years of dating. They reconnected 6 months later in July 2013, after filming X-Men: Days of Future Past together.^[68]