In Hollywood, a lot of stars – whether they mean to or not – develop specific public personas, and that was certainly the case for Jennifer Lawrence early in her career. The witty Kentucky native quickly became known for her grounded and direct personality. However, her persona eventually took on a life of its own – and not in a good way. Lawrence recently looked back at her past public image, which she now finds “embarrassing” and even believes Ariana Grande correctly emulated on Saturday Night Live.
Some might say there was something of a “gee whiz” quality to Jennifer Lawrence when she first emerged as a star. As described in The New Yorker’s lengthy feature on “J-Law,” the actress used to exemplify a looser, “kick of your shoes” sort of demeanor when in public. The interviewer mentioned to Lawrence (who was promoting her 2025 movie release, Die My Love) that she’d been looking back at some of her vintage interviews, and the reveal of that information garnered a visceral reaction from the actress:
Oh, no. So hyper. So embarrassing. Well, it is, or it was, my genuine personality, but it was also a defense mechanism.
Fame appears to be a very “unique” kind of experience, and it seems people cope with it in a variety of ways. It would seem that the Silver Linings Playbook star’s way of handling it all was to shield herself by being her authentic self. Unfortunately, that eventually backfired because, as noted by The New Yorker, people eventually began to accuse Lawrence of being disingenuous. Still, that wasn’t her intention:
And so it was a defense mechanism, to just be, like, ‘I’m not like that! I poop my pants every day! I was young, I lived alone, I was being chased.
Jennifer Lawrence previously admitted to feeling a loss of control around that time, especially after the first Hunger Games movie was released. The actress said she was “pissed” at that time in her life due to working so much and conducting so much press. At this point, Lawrence can understand the critiques she received and even gave Ariana Grande props for that impression she performed years ago:
I look at those interviews, and that person is annoying. I get why seeing that person everywhere would be annoying. Ariana Grande’s impression of me on ‘SNL’ was spot-on.
Back in 2016, the “7 Rings” performer portrayed Lawrence as part of a Celebrity Family Feud sketch. Grande’s known as a skilled impressionist, but her take on Lawrence’s younger self is so perfect it’s a bit scary. Take a look at the sketch:
Watch On
Times certainly have changed, though, as fame isn’t the same for Jennifer Lawrence, especially since she’s now a married woman and a mother of two. On that note, Lawrence previously explained that she can now move through the world a bit differently as “interest has lessened” in her personal life. All in all, she’s become a seasoned and confident star and human being.
Make no mistake, though, Lawrence is still funny and honest about her feelings on a given topic. It’s that directness and occasional haphazard nature that compelled her to ask co-star Robert Pattinson about Donald Trump’s tweets about his breakup with Kristen Stewart in 2012. Lawrence’s quirky personality is arguably what also prompted her to feed Pattinson food from her trash can. In short, while she may no longer be the woman Ariana Grande lampooned, parts of that past persona remain, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Check out Jennifer Lawrence’s Die My Love on November 7.