J-law takes centre stage… before she takes a break
NO ONE DOES red carpet dazzle quite like Jennifer Lawrence. And her gold Dior-laden return to the spotlight on 4 December – at the premiere of her new Netflix film Don’t Look Up, directed by Adam Mckay – was no exception. Jennifer, who announced in September that she was expecting her first baby with husband Cooke Maroney, joined co-stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Meryl Streep, marking her first red carpet since before Covid – and hers was no accidental break from fame.
You’ll remember there was a time when Jennifer Lawrence was everywhere. The star of The Hunger Games and X-men franchises, she ruled the Hollywood box office for almost a decade – not to mention winning critical acclaim for films such as Joy and Silver Linings Playbook, for which she won an Oscar in 2013. But the last couple of years have seen less in the way of J-law, as she took an intentional step back from the limelight, claiming, in typically self-deprecating fashion, that she figured we were all ‘sick’ of her, adding, ‘I didn’t have a life. I thought I should go get one.’
That she did, steering clear of the Hollywood circuit, moving to the East Coast and marrying gallery director Cooke in an understated ceremony in 2019. The pair made a quiet life for themselves in New York, where Cooke’s gallery is based, staying under the radar – particularly once the pandemic hit last year.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Jennifer, 31, admitted that she had begun to feel deeply disenchanted with fame and began to believe she couldn’t do anything right. ‘If I walked a red carpet it was, “Why didn’t she run?” I was people-pleasing for the majority of my life,’ she said.
Now, with motherhood next on the cards, Jennifer has said she’s adapting her new anti-fame lifestyle to protect her child. ‘Every instinct in my body wants to protect their privacy for the rest of their lives as much as I can,’ she explained. ‘I don’t want anyone to feel welcome into their existence. And I feel like that just starts with not including them in this part of my work.’
A Hollywood source explains that Jennifer came to realise that she was in the luxurious position where she didn’t have to chase her fame or roles, adding, ‘Nobody could deny she’s earned the right to pick parts that really stand out to her for their substance, as opposed to coining a big fat pay cheque for the sake of it, and that’s what she’s intent on doing from now on.’ They added, ‘Put simply, quality over quantity is more important – as well as family, she plans to take plenty of time out in 2022 and spend large chunks in Kentucky where her family is, and New York with Cooke and their close-knit circle.’
Her appearance in Don’t Look Up will be followed by her role as Elizabeth Holmes in the highly anticipated Adam Mckay adaptation of the real-life Theranos scandal. ‘Jen is extremely excited about this role – and about the new path she’s cutting in Hollywood,’ said the source. ‘She no longer feels like she needs to play by anyone else’s rules or attend awards ceremonies and glitzy parties to stay relevant – so don’t be surprised if you continue to see less of her again, unless it’s on the big screen.’