Jennifer Lawrence Opens Up About the "Anxiety" She Experienced After "Sacrificial" Decision to Become a Mom for the Second Time
"I do wrestle. It feels vain and selfish."
Jennifer Lawrence isn't afraid to be candid about the difficulties she's encountered as a mother. After revealing that motherhood "feels like a blister" during an appearance at Cannes Film Festival, the Oscar-winning star has reflected on the "anxiety" she experienced as a new mom.
In an interview with The New York Times to promote Lynne Ramsay movie Die My Love, Lawrence discussed parenting, and welcoming her second child with husband Cooke Maroney. "Having kids is sacrificial," she explained. "It's gratifying and it's amazing and rewarding, but it's not not sacrificial." The Hunger Games star continued, "I'd never had to say no to something before that I really wanted to do. I could just go do it."
Noting that becoming a mom has forced her to reconsider acting projects, she told the outlet, "I do wrestle. It feels vain and selfish that I love being a creative person as much as I do. My kids and my family are more important, obviously, but they feel like an equal part of me. I would not be complete if I couldn't make movies. I just wouldn't."
Having a second child also made Lawrence reevaluate her work-life balance. The actress shares two kids with husband Maroney—son Cy, born in 2022, and a second baby who arrived in 2025.
"When I had my son, my firstborn, I was like, Being an actress is the perfect job for being a hands-on mom!" she told the publication. "Now I'm realizing: That was Covid. So I'm reckoning with, How much is it OK to love this and not want to give it up? I definitely relate to that."
"I had so much anxiety when my second was born."
As well as juggling parenting alongside her career, becoming a mom to a second child brought both anxiety and creativity. "I found the opposite problem with creativity," Lawrence explained. "I had so much anxiety when my second was born that the only way I could escape was in stories and books, and in particular the American Revolution. I really lost myself in ideas. That's always been how I digest feelings."
It's likely that parents everywhere will be able to relate to the challenges Lawrence faced upon welcoming her kids.
