What Jennifer Lawrence's Parents Really Do For A Living
You can call Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence many things — like J-Law, for example — but you definitely can't call her a Hollywood nepo baby.
The "Silver Linings Playbook" actor's parents and her family hail from Kentucky, and Lawrence was the first one from her family to have dreams in the entertainment industry as a performer. The future movie star revealed to "60 Minutes" that at 14 years old she begged her parents to take her to a modeling agency in New York City, where she happened to be scouted and signed by the end of the trip. Lawrence then dropped out of middle school in order to further pursue her acting career. Although the actor's parents thought she was "out of [her] mind" for wanting to drop out, they ultimately supported her undying love for the craft and moved with her out to Los Angeles. And the rest is Academy-Award-winning history!
So, what is it that J-Law's parents used to do for a living before the glitz and glamour of the red carpet came into their lives?
Gary and Karen Lawrence are philanthropists
Spending much of their lives in their home state of Kentucky, parents Gary and Karen Lawrence were green to the Hollywood scene before their daughter, Jennifer Lawrence, became a star on the silver screen. During Jennifer's childhood, Gary worked as the owner of a construction firm while Karen operated a day camp in Simpsonville, Kentucky called Camp Hi-Ho. J-Law actually worked as an assistant nurse at the outdoorsy camp, which offers everything from horseback riding to arts and crafts to playing with puppies at the camp's in-house adoption shelter. In a 2019 interview with Style Blueprint, matriarch Karen noted that she serves as a board member for the Louisville Orchestra as well as the Kentucky Film Commission. Jennifer's parents also created the Lawrence Family Foundation, which helps to support children's initiatives in Louisville.
"When I was growing up, it was always important for our family to give back," Karen imparted to the publication about their charity. "With Jennifer's notoriety, we had a bigger platform to have more exposure and raise more money, meaning we had more money to share."
When Jennifer became a household name, Hollywood quirks like the city's newspapers tracking your real estate listings began to apply to Karen and Gary as well. In 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that the couple sold the original home they purchased back in 2006 when they relocated to L.A. for Jennifer's career for $1.15 million in exchange for a home over $2.75 million.
Jennifer Lawrence differs with her family on politics
Like many families across the United States, Jennifer Lawrence has personally experienced the political divide in the country through her differing political opinions with her Kentucky-based family. Lawrence explained to Vogue in September 2022 that growing up in her Republican household in Kentucky felt more like a "cultural thing," but later realized she was more left-leaning. The actor opened up about how the 2016 election was a point of contention within her family due to her disdain for Donald Trump and other right-wing media figures, including her "recurring nightmares" about Tucker Carlson.
"I just worked so hard in the last five years to forgive my dad and my family and try to understand: It's different. The information they are getting is different. Their life is different," Lawrence acknowledged to the fashion magazine. "I don't want to disparage my family, but I know that a lot of people are in a similar position with their families. How could you raise a daughter from birth and believe that she doesn't deserve equality?"
Regardless, the actor's parents are often there to support her, including when they attended the premiere of her comedy film released this year, "No Hard Feelings." No matter how many Oscars she wins or movies she's in, the Lawrences say they treat their daughter just the same. "She's talented and good at what she does," mother Karen Lawrence gushed to WDRB in 2013. "But she's still just Jen — who happens to be good at acting."