Love her or hate her, Jennifer Lawrence's resurgence is hard to ignore.
The 32-year-old had all but disappeared off the world's radar in recent years, but over the past week, the actor has proven that she is well and truly back – and is still as unapologetically herself as ever.
Walking the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in a crimson Dior gown and – yep – thongs (and giving absolutely zero tosses about that old Cannes footwear rule) Lawrence reminded us all that she's still just your everyday, average, relatable A-lister.
Lawrence's (very comfortable) step back into the spotlight is just the latest sign of her apparent second coming.
After a brief hiatus (if you can call more than half a decade 'brief'), the actor has starred in not one but two films in less than 12 months – the upcoming No Hard Feelings (about a woman who takes up the call of a mother's CraigsList ad looking for someone to date her son) and 2022's Causeway.
While it's good to see Lawrence back out on the circuit, the actor did find herself in the midst of some pretty serious backlash a few years ago following her meteoric rise to the top.
Hollywood's 'It girl' was practically everywhere after starring in her breakout film, The Hunger Games, in 2012, and swiftly went on to herself an Oscar for her performance in 2013's Silver Linings Playbook, which marked a pivotal moment in the young actor's career.
She was at the centre of a number of embarrassingly endearing moments, tripping up the stairs as she went to collect her Academy Award (and laughing it off in trademark Jennifer Lawrence fashion), flipping off the cameras as a joke, displaying that she was just like us – a very ‘normal’ girl that somehow lucked out.
With her quick wit, goofy manner and authenticity, Lawrence quickly gained a reputation for being the relatable 'celeb-next-door'. But the beloved actor with a talent for spinning awkward moments into gold became one of the most rejected women in the film industry almost as quickly. Her relatability had run its course; people were officially over what they saw as her 'act'.
What was once endearing suddenly shifted to accusations of her 'trying too hard'. She seemed disingenuous in the public's eyes, her behaviour all part of some calculated plan to win roles.
Unfortunately for Lawrence, we don’t live in an age where women can be cool, funny and intentional with their decision-making. She was all of these things – and this, of course, was the beginning of Lawrence's fall from grace as she received intense scrutiny at every turn.
Around this time, people raised concerns about the actor's proximity to disgraced film producer and convicted criminal Harvey Weinstein. The pair had given each other pet nicknames, and Lawrence had even said Weinstein was something of a father figure to her.
When the sexual assault allegations around Weinstein surfaced, Lawrence admitted she found the news hard to process.
“I had known him since I was 20, and he had only ever been nice to me – except for the moments that he wasn’t, and then I called him an a**hole, and we moved on,” Lawrence explained.
That wasn't the end of things.
That same year, one of the many women who came forward to share her story about Weinstein claimed that the film exec said, “I slept with Jennifer Lawrence and look where she is; she has just won an Oscar”, in an attempt to get the woman to sleep with him.
Lawrence denied the pair were ever sexual, but the damage was already done. The political landscape had changed and it was no longer acceptable for public figures to stay silent in the face of such behaviour. People were turning to those with significant influence with platforms to bring about change.
Lawrence has spoken about the insecurity she felt after falling out of favour with the masses, saying she could see that some of her past behaviour may have been perceived as cringe-worthy.
All of that, alongside a string of very average reviews for her more recent films, had many claiming that Lawrence was officially done.
And so, Lawrence stepped quietly out of the spotlight, avoiding public appearances and putting her focus on her relationship with her now-husband, Cooke Maroney. The actor announced she was pregnant in 2021, and her shift into motherhood also seemed to signal a move towards a more private life.
Lawrence claimed she no longer cared what people thought of her, saying she’d been redirecting her energy toward issues she feels are important, and the actor has been very selective with roles since her retreat. She strives to exist as an artist rather than a media personality – which is why there is significance in each and every public appearance she makes these days.
Perhaps Lawrence is redefining what it means to be a celebrity. Perhaps she will be taking on a range of new and diverse roles; or perhaps this will be a fleeting moment in Hollywood history.
Whatever it is, we can safely say that we're looking forward to getting to know the new Jennifer Lawrence.
Image: Getty.
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