73
JENNIFER LAWRENCE’S BREAKOUT ROLE–inWinter’s
Bone, for which she received the first of three Academy Award
nominations (so far) – came just eight years ago. It’s kind of
staggering, at this point, to imagine that just a decade ago,
Hollywood was J-Law-less. Because in those ensuing eight
years, not only has Lawrence broken box office records (as the
highest grossing action heroine of all time for The Hunger
Games’ Katniss Everdeen) and been named Forbes’ highest-
paid actress two years running, she’s done it all onherterms.
When nude photos of her leaked during the 2014 iCloud
and Gmail hack, she steadfastly labelled the whole thing a sex
crime. When evidence emerged that Lawrence was paid
significantly less than her male co-stars for American Hustle,
she called out the decision for what it was: blatant discrimination.
And last year, she was among the mass of actresses who
founded Time’s Up in the wake of the rape allegations made
against Harvey Weinstein. J-Law is here to stay – that much has
been clear for years – but she’s also here to work. We spoke to
Lawrence – a longtime Dior muse who is now the face of the
house’s first new perfume in nearly 20 years, Joy de Dior- about her feminism, her driving forces and coming to terms
with fame and public scrutiny.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN A WORKAHOLIC?
Oh no, I’ve changed. When I was younger, I really didn’t know
what to do with my life apart from work. I was focused on my
career, and thanks to that it’s now possible for me to take a break,
to say no to certain things and not to have to read every script
I’m sent. I can slow down and cultivate other aspects of myself.
LIKE WHAT?
I’ve become passionate about politics. I think that the [US 2016]
election changed something drastically in me, and I’ve
taken a close interest in corruption and deregulation. I work
closely with Represent.Us, an anti-corruption association,
and I try to keep informed, which takes a lot of time. At the same
time I’m busy decorating my house in New York and looking after
Pippi, my Chihuahua-mix. I’m a totally devoted mother to my dog.
YOU’RE PLAYING ZELDA FITZGERALD IN HER UPCOMING
BIOPIC. WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE CHARACTER?
She was a force of nature and flouted conventions. She wrote
incredibly well from her vast imagination, and her love story with
F. Scott Fitzgerald was downright fascinating. They were made
for each other, but they also destroyed each other. I’ve never had
a relationship like that – luckily, I’m attracted to calmer scenarios- but it doesn’t mean that I don’t find them fascinating.>
Dress, $38,000, bra, $1,900,
bothCHRISTIAN DIOR,
(02) 9229 4600 (worn throughout)