Jennifer Lawrence gets brutally honest about motherhood and postpartum as she reveals how it's helped her acting
Jennifer Lawrence has opened up about 'feeling like an alien' during 'postpartum' while speaking about her latest role in Die, My Love.
Die, My Love is a psychological drama with a screenplay by Lynne Ramsay, Enda Wlash, and Alice Birch based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Arana Harwicz.
Directed by Ramsay, it stars Jennifer Lawrence as new mom Grace, who develops postpartum depression and enters psychosis, her marriage to Jackson (Robert Pattinson) breaking down.
The movie premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 17 and has been reviewed as 'brutal' but 'beautiful,' with Lawrence herself having opened up about how 'there's not really anything like postpartum' - 'postpartum' meaning the period following childbirth.
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The 34-year-old actor - also a mom of two herself - also admitted it was 'really hard to separate' herself from her character in moments.
Jennifer Lawrence describes 'extremely isolating' 'postpartum' experience
Lawrence said during a press conference held yesterday (May 18): "I had just had my firstborn, and there’s not really anything like postpartum. It’s extremely isolating.
"[Speaking of her character Grace] She doesn’t have a community. She doesn’t have her people.
"But the truth is, extreme anxiety and extreme depression is isolating, no matter where you are. You feel like an alien."
However, both Lawrence and Pattinson spoke about how becoming parents has positively impacted their careers as actors too.
Lawrence reflected how 'having children changes everything' and is both 'brutal' but also 'incredible'.
"I didn’t know that I could feel so much," she continued. "My job has a lot to do with emotion, and they’ve opened up the world to me. It’s almost like feeling like a blister or something. So sensitive. So they’ve changed my life, obviously, for the best, and they’ve changed me creatively. I highly recommend having kids if you want to be an actor."
Die, My Love deals with postpartum depression specifically.
But what are the symptoms of postpartum depression?
What are the symptoms of postpartum depression?
While 'most new moms experience postpartum 'baby blues' after childbirth, which commonly include 'mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty sleeping', Mayo Clinic notes 'baby blues usually begin within the first two to three days after delivery and may last for up to two weeks,' whereas postpartum depression incapsulates 'a more severe, long-lasting form of depression'.
"These may eventually interfere with your ability to care for your baby and handle other daily tasks," it adds.
The symptoms typically start 'within the first few weeks after giving birth' but can start during pregnancy or 'up to a year after birth'.
Stark changes in eating habits, sleep patterns of feeling a 'loss of energy' are important to keep track of too, alongside falling out of love with activities you normally enjoy doing.
Experiencing 'intense irritability and anger,' alongside 'fear that you're not a good mother,' 'hopelessness' and 'feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt or inadequacy' are listed as symptoms too.
Struggling to concentrate, anxiety, and thoughts about 'harming yourself or your baby' are a sign you should check in with a doctor.
Thankfully, there is support available - from talking therapy to medication and various self-help strategies.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Jennifer Lawrence, Mental Health, Parenting, Robert Pattinson, Cannes Film Festival
Poppy Bilderbeck