Actress Jennifer Lawrence revealed that she contemplated retirement during her breaks from acting, expressing that she would have been “at peace” with stepping away from her career. The 35-year-old star made these comments while appearing on The Graham Norton Show, a popular British talk show. Lawrence took significant breaks from acting between 2019 and 2021, and again in 2023, as reported by Variety.
During her first hiatus, she reassessed her professional life after a series of box office disappointments. “I took a little time,” she shared. “I was working all of my 20s and then I was like … what’s out here? What’s going on?” Her break followed the release of films such as Mother! (2017) and Red Sparrow (2018), which did not perform as expected at the box office.
When host Graham Norton asked if she worried about her career trajectory after such extended breaks, Lawrence responded candidly. “I was at peace with that possibility of happening. [Hollywood] is a lot,” she explained. “I think I would’ve been fine.” Yet, she quickly added, “Well, I mean, no — I would be really upset.”
Lawrence made her return to the screen in 2021 with the successful Netflix film Don’t Look Up, which starred notable actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, and Timothée Chalamet. Following her work on No Hard Feelings in 2023, she took another break, but is set to return with her new film Die My Love, scheduled for release on November 7, 2023.
In her personal life, Lawrence welcomed her first child, a son named Cy, with her husband, Cooke Maroney, in 2022. The couple added a second child earlier this year.
Lawrence rose to fame with her iconic role as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games franchise, which began in 2012. She also starred in acclaimed films such as Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), and Joy (2015). Reflecting on her career in a 2021 interview with Vanity Fair, she expressed her concerns about her recent projects, stating, “I just think everybody had gotten sick of me. I’d gotten sick of me.”
As she navigates this pivotal time in her career, Lawrence’s candid reflections resonate with many in the entertainment industry, highlighting the pressures and expectations placed on actors in Hollywood.
