Welcome back to our occasional eye/soul candy series, in which we celebrate boys and girls whom you should immediately declare to be your new fake boyfriend/girlfriend! This time, we’re focusing Katniss Everdeen herself, Ms. Jennifer Lawrence.
If you’re currently unfamiliar with Jennifer, I’m gonna have to call shenanigans. But if you want to keep pretending you didn’t run to a theater to see Catching Fire last week, I’m here to help you get better acquainted with the woman behind the girl on fire. Below are some stats and video clips that will help you realize why J. Law is perfect BFF material.
Fake Girlfriend Name: Jennifer Shrader Lawrence
Name says: All-American. Jennifer is one of those girls’ names that was super popular during the 80s and 90s; in fact, according to the Social Security administration, it was the 16th most popular name of 1900–99. Shrader, on the other hand, is a very unusual middle name. I’m guessing it’s a family name of some sort (I tried to find more info on it, but couldn’t find much), and it’s kind of awesome. Such a unique name totally fits her personality.
Date of Birth: Aug. 15, 1990
Age says: Jennifer, who’s 23, lived through most of the 90s, but was too young to really get them. Regardless, for those of us on the upper end of the FYA spectrum, hanging out with her wouldn’t feel like you’re hanging out with a younger cousin or that sibling who totally wasn’t an accident (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). She’s kind of the perfect age—old enough to drive, vote and drink, but still has a couple of years until she can rent a car without hassle. Those were the days!
Place of Birth: Louisville, Kentucky
Birthplace says: The Bluegrass State, located below the Midwest, but just east of the East Coast, is a blue-collar state, with the nation’s most productive coalfield (early research for The Hunger Games, perhaps?) But Louisville, the largest city in the state, likely provided a lot of culture (e.g., the Kentucky Derby) and excitement before age 15, when the Lawrence family moved to Los Angeles in order for Jennifer to focus on her acting career.
Education Background: Public schools in Louisville; graduated from high school two years early with a 3.9 GPA
Education says: “I had bigger and better things to do with my life, so I worked hard and got shizz done as quickly as I possibly could.” Seriously. Two years early and girl still had a 3.9 GPA? That deserves a hand—and a whole case of champ cans. (Shoot me your address, Jen, and I’ll send ‘em your way. Hope you don’t mind me coming with.)
Where You Have Seen Her:
Jennifer is (obvs) most well-known for her role as Katniss in both The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
But the Oscar award-winning and nominated actress—for her roles in Silver Linings Playbook and Winter’s Bone, respectively—has been acting since 2006; her first big role was as eldest daughter Lauren on The Bill Engvall Show. She’s also had roles in Like Crazy, The Beaver, X-Men: First Class, House at the End of the Street and The Devil You Know.
Where You’ll See Her Next:
Jennifer is a busy woman, as evidenced by the fact that the “upcoming movies” section of her IMDB filmography is about the same size as her past films. She’s teamed up once again with Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell and co-stars Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro for American Hustle, which opens in the U.S. Dec. 18.
In 2014, she has four movies coming out: Serena (a Depression-era film also co-starring Bradley Cooper), X-Men: Days of Future Past (which looks SO GOOD; see trailer below), Dumb and Dumber To and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1. Jennifer will reprise her role as Katniss one last time in 2015 for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 2, and she has one project in pre-production: a new adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden with Hunger Games director Gary Ross. (Jennifer’s also rumored for two other projects currently in pre-production: The Glass Castle and Burial Rites.)
If the above roles aren’t enough to prove to you that Jennifer’s the absolute bee’s knees, I’ve provided even more evidence below.
Why You’ll Adore Her:
She’s not afraid to be goofy, even when it’s not entirely appropriate.
She’s not afraid to speak her mind, particularly when it comes to her love of food.
In a recent Instyle magazine interview, she said:
“During Hunger Games, when I was eating ungodly amounts, I used to tell myself, ‘Stop eating, people are going to see this. This movie is going to be around forever.’ But nope! I was like, I still want candy and I still want a hot dog!”
And she’s definitely not afraid to bust out the sass.
On the Catching Fire tour, Jennifer absolutely killed it, fashion-wise—and totally rocked the new ‘do.
Her relationship with Peeta Josh Hutcherson is the CUTEST THING EVER. (Thank you for that link, Mandy W.) Seriously, they’re like the physical embodiment of these two otters holding hands.
Her word vomit is as bad as any “normal” person’s, particularly in interviews during which her handlers probably wish she wouldn’t be as open as she is.
I mean—her first words to Woody Harrelson were “Is that a sex swing?”
On a more serious note, she really gets the power of The Hunger Games.
But then she goes back to doing stuff like this, and we’re reminded all over again why we want her to come to every party we throw, ever.
Ladies and Gentlemen … Jennifer Lawrence.
