Jennifer Lawrence has already been doing her fair share of celebrating and quite rightly so: starring in two blockbusting sci-fi franchises that continue to take the cinema by storm in The Hunger Games and X:Men. Not to mention being awarded with an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in David O. Russell’s American Hustle to stand alongside her 2013 Oscar and Golden Globe win for Best Leading Actress in Silver Linings Playbook. Therefore getting a mound of presents and an iced, candle-topped cake is surely just the cherry on top of an amazing year for the fast-rising A-list starlet.
In the decade that has passed since breaking into Hollywood, Lawrence has managed to balance her beauty and strength in every one of her roles. After wowing agents at an audition in New York when she was just 14 years old, the fighting Kentuckian pursued a career as an actress when cheerleading, field hockey, softball and even modelling did not satisfy her. Landing a central character as the daughter Lauren of therapist Bill Pearson in the 2007 comedy TV show The Ben Engvall Show which ran for three seasons, made Lawrence a familiar face on the small screen before going on to star in Lori Petty’s biopic drama The Poker House (2008) opposite Selma Blair and Chloë Grace Moretz. She was Anton Yelchin’s object of desire in both Jodie Foster’s The Beaver (2011) and temporarily in Like Crazy (2011).
Watch Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar speech here.
Let us extend our birthday wishes to the mighty J-Law by enjoying her most memorable films…
Winter’s Bone (2010) Dir. Debra Granik
Role: Ree Dolly
*Contains violence*
With a mentally ill mother and younger brother who depend on her, seventeen year old Ree (Lawrence) must now embark on a relentless mission to track down her elusive criminal father. In order to ensure he attends his fast approaching court date after being released on bail, Ree struggles to avoid losing the home she has been working her hands to the bone to save and has been holding onto by her fingertips.
Lawrence proves that she has what it takes to survive whatever life has to throw at her and come out on top; even when she is threatened and beaten (but not into submission) by the local crime lord’s gang of hench female relatives who stand in her way of getting to the truth. John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011) co-stars are her estranged uncle ‘Teardrop’ who is torn between helping his niece on her quest.
X-Men: First Class (2011) Dir. Matthew Vaughn
Role: Raven Darkholme/ Mystique
As soon as she walked into the English pub in Oxford, it was clear that Lawrence was perfect to play the younger version of Rebecca Romijn as Raven and her alter-ego; the vengefully blue mutant ‘Mystique’.
Previously quoted by Romijn in the first X-Men (2000) when ambushing Senator Kelly ‘people like you are the reason I was afraid to go to school as a child’, Lawrence’s character offers a less sultry and seductive portrayal of the colourful mutant. She delivers a more visceral account of the prejudices and animosity she succumbs to and ultimately tips the scale in leaving Charles Xavier/ Professor X (James McAvoy) and forming an allegiance with Eric Lensherr/ Magneto (Michael Fassbender).
Lawrence became a fan of the Marvel superhero movies directed by Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner prior to accepting the role; having never seen them before. Taking the part also meant having to spend eight hours in the make-up chair in order to resemble the shape-shifting reptilian.