Jennifer Lawrence: Snapshot

Jennifer Lawrence: Five Fun Facts

1. Jennifer Lawrence auditioned for the role of Bella in Twilight. Luckily she lost out to Kristen Stewart, making her available to shoot her star-making role in Winter's Bone.
2. Jennifer Lawrence's parents tried to deter her from acting. "My parents were the exact opposite of stage parents. They did everything in their power to keep it from happening," she told Canadian paper The Globe and Mail.
3. The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson pranked Jennifer Lawrence by putting a mangled dummy in her on-set bathroom. "When she opened the door, she peed her pants. Or so I was told – she told me later," Hutcherson, who plays Peeta, told EW. "I did not get visual confirmation on that one."
4. When she's not acting, Jennifer Lawrence enjoys painting. "I'm going through a woman phase right now," she told T Magazine of her preferred subject matter.
5. For X-Men: First Class, Jennifer Lawrence's body was painted blue by seven women each day during the four-month shoot. "Those girls and I got so close," she's said. "It was kind of like going to a really bizarre sleepover."

Jennifer Lawrence: Biography

2004

New York Minute

A high school cheerleader and local theater regular, Lawrence visits New York with her mom to interview at talent agencies. While strolling around Manhattan, "a guy asked to take my picture," Lawrence recounts in an Esquire interview. "We probably should have realized how creepy that was." Fortunately, he turns out to be a legitimate scout, and agents soon come calling.

2007

Steady Gigs

Having finished high school early, Lawrence returns to New York and lands a smattering of gigs, including an Abercrombie & Fitch ad, a Burger King commercial, and appearances on TV's Monk and Medium. She soon relocates to L.A. for the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show. "From 15 to 16 I sucked, because I had no idea what I was doing. Then I slowly stopped sucking," she says of her early acting experience.

2009

Bad to the 'Bone'

After starring in two hard-hitting indie dramas, (The Burning Plain and The Poker House), Lawrence auditions for the lead in Winter's Bone. Wary of her good looks, producers initially reject her for the gritty role of Ree Dolly, a poor-as-dirt teen who hunts down her meth-dealing dad. "Then, like a psychopath, I followed them to New York on the red-eye and showed up the next day at the casting there," she recalls to PEOPLE. "Not brushing my hair or washing my face did the trick."

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Jennifer Lawrence: Special Feature