“I wouldn’t go to the bathroom. My dad still talks about that”: Jennifer Lawrence Stayed in a Rat Infested Room in New York That Changed Her Parents’ Mind

"I wouldn’t go to the bathroom. My dad still talks about that": Jennifer Lawrence Stayed in a Rat Infested Room in New York That Changed Her Parents' Mind

Apart from her top-notch skills as an actress, Jennifer Lawrence built herself a huge fan following thanks to her incredible personality. She does not shy away from voicing her opinions or taking a stand for what’s right, and she is simply funny without trying to be. A Jennifer Lawrence interview is all you need to watch to get into a pleasant mood.

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Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is now among the top actors in Hollywood, however, she struggled a lot to get here. She was not born into stardom and had to face many ups and downs in her life to reach this point, including moving into a rat-infested apartment at the young age of fourteen. Jennifer Lawrence was adamant about becoming a part of the entertainment industry and making her name, no rodent was going to come in her way!

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Jennifer Lawrence Moves to New York

Jennifer Lawrence at 14 years old
Jennifer Lawrence at 14 years old

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Success stories often begin with struggles and Jennifer Lawrence was no exception. During a visit to New York, Lawrence met a talent scout who ended up convincing her mother to let the young girl audition for a role. However, even though her skills impressed those in charge, Lawrence’s mother was not convinced and they came back home empty-handed.

That’s when Lawrence decided that she had to take charge of her own life if she wanted to do something. She had enough money saved up and was ready to move out all by herself. However, her parents and she came up with an agreement and Lawrence ended up living in an apartment with her older brother.

Talking to NPR, Lawrence stated,

“I had saved enough babysitting money and I was like, ‘I’m going.’ So [my parents] tried to find a nice balance between me kind of running away and being completely unsafe and having a little bit of supervision. So I had a horrible apartment [in New York]; it was completely rat-infested. My brother, who was 18, went with me at first and my parents left us and we were both like, ‘We’re going to die.’”

The Passengers actress went on to say that despite such horrendous living conditions, she was finally happy, which her parents soon realized. They understood that their daughter was not kidding around when it came to pursuing her dream of becoming an actress.

Also Read: Jennifer Lawrence Went Viral For Trying to Steal Another Marvel Star’s Oscar Award

What Made Jennifer Lawrence’s Parents Come Around?

Jennifer Lawrence with her family
Jennifer Lawrence with her family

In the interview, Lawrence recalled her time at the apartment which was no holiday for sure. From having no kitchen, no hot water, and living with rats that wouldn’t let her use the bathroom, things were not going well for the actress. She remembers how this struggle became the turning point for her father.

“Night was horrible, that’s when [the rats] all come out. I wouldn’t go to the bathroom. My dad still talks about that. He says, ‘That’s when I knew you were serious.’ I think that that was the turning point for my dad, letting me do this because he came and saw the conditions I was living in. No hot water, there was no kitchen, it was a closet with a hot plate.”

Not only did Lawrence share an apartment with rats, but she also had to eat bread that was nibbled on by her toothy roommates. She recalled how her old self would simply throw the entire loaf out instead of doing what she did.

“I went to Chinatown — that’s where I got most everything, or Duane Reade. I didn’t really have any money, so if a rat had eaten my loaf of bread, before when I first got there I [would have been] like, ‘Ew!’ and throw the whole loaf of bread away, but eventually I was like, ‘God, I’m not going to be able to afford bread.’ So I started just cutting around the hole that the rat ate. I got to the point where I was literally sharing food with a rat. So that’s when my parents were like, ‘Yeah, I think she really, really wants to do this.’”

Desperate times call for desperate measures and Lawrence was desperately trying to make it in the entertainment industry. That struggle was absolutely worth it as today, she is one of the best actresses out there. She has many accolades to her name including an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook. Lawrence’s story is enough to inspire a generation of struggling actors.

Source: NPR

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Written by Mishkaat Khan

Mishkaat is a medical student who found solace in content writing. Having worked in the industry for about three years, she has written about everything from medicine to literature and is now happy to enlight you about the world of entertainment. She has written over 500 articles for FandomWire. When not writing, she can be found obsessing over the world of the supernatural through books and TV.

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