2012–2015: Rise to prominence
In 2012, Lawrence starred as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, an adaptation of the first book in author Suzanne Collins' trilogy of the same name. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the series follows the teenage heroine Everdeen as she joins rebel forces against a totalitarian government after winning a brutal, televised annual event. Despite being an admirer of the books, Lawrence was initially hesitant to accept the role because of the film's grand scale. She agreed to the project after her mother convinced her to take the part. She practiced archery, rock and tree climbing, and hand-to-hand combat techniques, and other physically demanding activities for the role. While training for the part, she injured herself running into a wall. The Hunger Games garnered positive reviews, with Lawrence's portrayal of Everdeen being particularly praised; Roger Ebert described the film as "an effective entertainment," and found Lawrence to be "strong and convincing in the central role." Similarly, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called her an "ideal screen actress", believing that she had embodied the Everdeen of the novel, and added that she "anchors [the film] with impressive gravity and presence". With worldwide revenues of over $690 million, The Hunger Games became a top-grossing film featuring a female lead, making Lawrence the highest-grossing action heroine of all time. The film's success established her as a global star.
Later in 2012, Lawrence played Tiffany Maxwell, a troubled young widow, in David O. Russell's romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook. The film is an adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel of the same name, and follows her character as she finds companionship with Pat Solitano Jr. (played by Bradley Cooper), a man with bipolar disorder. Lawrence was drawn to her character's complex personality, explaining, "She was just kind of this mysterious enigma to me because she didn't really fit any basic kind of character profile. Somebody who is very forceful and bullheaded is normally very insecure, but she isn't." While Russell initially found her too young for the part, she convinced him to cast her via a Skype audition. She found herself challenged by Russell's spontaneity as a director, and described working on the project as the "best experience of [her] life". Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote: "Just 21 when the movie was shot, Lawrence is that rare young actress who plays, who is, grown-up. Sullen and sultry, she lends a mature intelligence to any role." Peter Travers called her "some kind of miracle. She's rude, dirty, funny, foulmouthed, sloppy, sexy, vibrant, and vulnerable, sometimes all in the same scene, even in the same breath." Lawrence won the Golden Globe, SAG Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming—at age 22—the second-youngest Best Actress Oscar winner. Her final film of the year was alongside Max Thieriot and Elisabeth Shue in Mark Tonderai's critically panned thriller House at the End of the Street.
In January 2013, she hosted an episode of the NBC late-night sketch comedy Saturday Night Live. The Devil You Know, a small-scale production that Lawrence had filmed for in 2005, was her first release of 2013. She then reprised the role of Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the second installment in the Hunger Games series. While performing the film's underwater stunts, Lawrence suffered from an ear infection that resulted in a brief loss of hearing. Writing for The Village Voice, Stephanie Zacharek believed that the actress' portrayal of Everdeen made her an ideal role model, stating that "there's no sanctimony or pretense of false modesty in the way Lawrence plays her." With box office earnings of $865 million, Catching Fire remains her highest-grossing film.
In the same year, Lawrence took on a supporting role in David O. Russell's ensemble black comedy crime American Hustle as Rosalyn Rosenfeld, the neurotic wife of con man Irving Rosenfeld (played by Christian Bale). Inspired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s Abscam sting operation, the film is set against the backdrop of political corruption in 1970s New Jersey. She did little research for the role, and based her performance on knowledge of the era from films and television shows she had watched. Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent found Lawrence to be "brilliant", "funny and acerbic" in her part, and highlighted an improvised scene in which she aggressively kisses her husband's mistress (played by Amy Adams) on the lips. For her performance, she won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress, and received her third Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award nominations, her first in the supporting category. This made her the youngest actor to accrue three Oscar nominations.
Lawrence played Serena Pemberton in Susanne Bier's depression-era drama Serena (2014), based on the novel of the same name by Ron Rash. In the film, she and her husband, George (played by Bradley Cooper), become involved in criminal activities after realizing they cannot have children. The project was filmed in 2012, and was released in 2014 to poor reviews. Lawrence then reprised the role of Mystique in X-Men: Days of Future Past, which served as a sequel to both X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: First Class (2011). The film received positive reviews and grossed $748.1 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in the X-Men series to that point. Justin Chang of Variety praised her look in the film but thought she had little to do but "glower, snarl and let the f/x artists do their thing".
Lawrence's next two releases were the final installments of The Hunger Games film series, Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015). For the soundtrack of the former film, she recorded the song "The Hanging Tree", which charted on multiple international singles charts. While filming a scene in a tunnel for Part 2, a fog machine malfunctioned and released an excessive amount of fog, nearly suffocating Lawrence. She was carried out by a rescue crew. In a review of the final installment in the series, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times drew similarities between Everdeen's journey as a rebel leader and Lawrence's rise to stardom, stating that the actress "now inhabits the role as effortlessly as breathing, partly because, like all great stars, she seems to be playing a version of her 'real' self." Both films grossed over $650 million worldwide.
Lawrence worked with David O. Russell for the third time on the biopic Joy (2015), in which she played the eponymous character, a troubled single mother who becomes a successful businesswoman after inventing the Miracle Mop. During production in Boston, the press reported on a disagreement between Lawrence and Russell that resulted in a "screaming match". She said their friendship made it easier for them to disagree, because people fight when they really love each other. The film was not as well-received as their previous collaborations, but Lawrence's performance was unanimously praised; critic Richard Roeper found it to be her best work since Winter's Bone, terming it "a wonderfully layered performance that carries the film through its rough spots and sometime dubious detours." She won her third Golden Globe for it, and was nominated for another Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the youngest actor in history to accrue four Oscar nominations.
