Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence has offered heartfelt insights into her recent emotional state during a revealing cover story for W Magazine's prestigious Art Issue. The 35-year-old actress, who recently left television host Jimmy Fallon visibly uncomfortable when she unexpectedly burst into tears during an appearance on The Tonight Show, opened up about the complexities of motherhood and balancing her career.
The Motherhood Transformation
Lawrence, who shares three-year-old son Cy and another baby boy born in March this year with husband Cooke Maroney, explained the profound connection she felt immediately after her first child's birth. "I felt completely connected to Cy after he was born," the Hunger Games star revealed, before addressing the difficult reality many working mothers face.
The actress expressed her bewilderment at societal expectations placed on new mothers, stating: "Suddenly, you're like, Wait, how am I supposed to go back to work? Get in a car and drive away? Get on an airplane and fly away from my baby? Like, what are you talking about? Everything looks different after that." She added that she came to understand "the world wasn't designed around that relationship" between mother and child.
Lawrence described motherhood as an experience that strips away "any kind of veneer" because "now you're seeing the world through somebody else's eyes - somebody who's so much more important than you are."
Pregnancy Challenges and Film Role
The Oscar winner was surprisingly candid about the difficulties she faced during her second pregnancy, which coincided with filming for her upcoming comedic thriller Die My Love. "I knew I was going to be doing the movie, and I also knew that I needed a second child before my other son got too old," Lawrence explained to the publication.
She detailed the physical challenges, noting: "In the first trimester, you're very sick; and in the second trimester, you start to feel better," before humorously adding, "Real sexy family planning."
In Die My Love - directed by acclaimed filmmaker Lynne Ramsay - Lawrence portrays Grace, a young mother experiencing postpartum psychosis. The actress found her perspective on the film shifted after welcoming her second child. "When I'm performing, it all has to be real and straightforward. Everything Grace does has to feel grounded," she explained.
Lawrence noted that upon reviewing the footage, her interpretation had evolved: "Watching it back, I was like, Oh, maybe that was a fantasy. Maybe that was in her mind. I have different versions of how the whole movie could be interpreted now."
Postpartum Anxiety and Professional Life
The mother-of-two recently disclosed that she experienced "really bad" postpartum anxiety following the birth of her second child. In a conversation with People earlier this month, she revealed this personal struggle actually helped inform her performance in Die My Love.
"I didn't really end up having really bad postpartum [anxiety] until my second [baby]. I think that just added another layer," Lawrence shared. While emphasising that "you don't have to have kids to play a parent by any means," she acknowledged that "having that information about what a tiny person needs, and is looking for" proved invaluable to her portrayal.
Lawrence's emotional state became publicly evident during her recent appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, where she repeatedly burst into tears. The episode began with the actress confessing she felt "nervous" and referencing her recent New Yorker profile where she discussed feeling "annoying" in interviews during her younger years.
At one point, Lawrence dramatically declared she "wasn't gonna say a f***ing word" on the show, prompting Fallon to exclaim, "No, you have to say something!" Her emotional outburst occurred while discussing her collaboration with director Lynne Ramsay, whom she described as "someone I've always wanted to work with" and "a genius."
The black comedy drama, which features Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek and LaKeith Stanfield alongside Lawrence, is based on the novel Die, My Love by Ariana Harwicz and is scheduled for theatrical release on November 7.
