Laying Down The J.Law

Whether she’s making movies, fighting for equal pay or fronting her first-ever perfume collaboration – called Joy by Dior – the uber-talented, instantly likeable Jennifer Lawrence is fearlessly forging her own path, as editor Nicky Briger discovers

- Nicky Briger

Real and relatable. Grounded and genuine. Everyone’s wannabe bestie. Google Jennifer Lawrence and they’re the phrases constantly used to describe Hollywood’s much-loved megastar. From her hilariously ribald talk-show interviews and penchant for photobombing fellow celebs on the red carpet to famously falling while collecting her Best Actress Oscar (and wisecracking straight after), Lawrence seems disarmingly down-to-earth. But how normal can one of the world’s highest-paid actresses, and the youngest person to have earned four Academy Award nominations, really be? Pretty damn normal, it seems.

Sitting perfectly poised on a plush gold couch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, her pocket-sized pooch Pippi fussing at her feet, she suddenly springs to life. “I love Australians! Australians are wild!’’ Lawrence gushes, referring to her Aussie co-stars Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) and Joel Edgerton (Red Sparrow). “Because I’m Southern we meet on some weird ground. When everyone else says, ‘No, no, we can’t do sake bombs,’ me and Joel are like, ‘Yes we can!’’’ She throws back her head and lets out a deep infectious laugh. There it is: that renowned real, relatable J-Law.

We’re chatting about film, feminism, fashion and fragrance, notably because she’s in LA to launch Parfums Christian Dior’s first new scent in 20 years – Joy by Dior. This floral, feminine perfume joins Miss Dior and J’Adore in the French fashion house’s iconic collection of fragrances, and Lawrence says being asked to collaborate on the launch was “a real honour” and “major moment”.