Jennifer Lawrence has opened up about motherhood and politics in a far-ranging interview with Vogue, revealing that she had two miscarriages before giving birth to her son earlier this year.
In her first interview since becoming a mother, the Oscar-winning actor reflected on her pregnancy losses in light of the US Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade reversal.
The Roe v Wade precedent – overturned by the US Supreme Court this year – recognised the constitutional right for women across the country to legally seek abortions.
Lawrence said her first miscarriage was when she was in her early 20s, around the time she starred in the hugely popular Hunger Games movie franchise.
She said she had intended to have an abortion, until she suddenly miscarried while alone in Montreal.
She had another miscarriage years later, while filming the 2021 Netflix film Don’t Look Up.
Lawrence and husband Cooke Maroney eventually welcomed son Cy in February.
But she said politics and reproductive rights were at the forefront of her mind throughout the pregnancy.
“I remember a million times thinking about it while I was pregnant. Thinking about the things that were happening to my body,’’ she said.
‘‘And I had a great pregnancy. I had a very fortunate pregnancy. But every single second of my life was different. And it would occur to me sometimes: What if I was forced to do this?”
‘You have to be political’
Lawrence, who previously shied away from publicly discussing politics, said she no longer had any room for political apathy.
“I’ve tried to get over it and I really can’t. I can’t. I’m sorry I’m just unleashing, but I can’t f—k with people who aren’t political any more,” she said.
“You live in the United States of America. You have to be political. It’s too dire. Politics are killing people.”
Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Lawrence said she always thought of herself as a Republican when she was younger.
But her position sharply changed at the age of 16 when she was watching US sitcom 30 Rock.
She recalled a line from Liz Lemon, played by comedian Tina Fey: ‘‘I’m not a crazy liberal. I just think people should drive hybrid cars.’’
Travelling around the world throughout her career, Lawrence said she saw how wealth always tended to concentrate at the top.
“Nobody likes to see half their pay cheque go away, but it made sense to me. Yeah, for the greater good, I guess it makes sense.”
Tweet from @voguemagazine
Although Lawrence had a change of heart, her extended family remain staunch Republicans. They still live in Kentucky (where a near-total ban on abortion has been reinstated).
Lawrence said the 2016 US presidential election, won by Donald Trump, drove a wedge between her and her largely conservative family.
‘‘I just worked so hard in the last five years to forgive my dad and my family and try to understand,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s different. The information they are getting is different. Their life is different … I’ve tried to get over it and I really can’t. I can’t.’’
The actor even revealed she’s spoken with her therapist about recurring nightmares involving Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Family life
As for motherhood, Lawrence described welcoming a child as something of a metamorphosis, saying her ‘‘whole life had started over’’ the morning after giving birth.
‘‘Like, ‘now is day one of my life’. I just stared. I was just so in love,’’ she said.
She said her heart ‘‘stretched [to such] a capacity’’ that she didn’t know was possible.
‘‘I also fell in love with all babies everywhere. Newborns are just so amazing. They’re these pink, swollen, fragile little survivors.”
As for her relationship with her extended family, Lawrence said things remain delicate.
“I broach the subject in the sense that I unleash text messages. Just: ‘Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom’. They don’t respond. And then I’ll feel bad and send a picture of the baby.”
