part of america, people are learning there is no them. there is only us. and we're going to have to figure this out together. exceptional talents. >> i volunteer as tribute. >> candid honesty. >> i have no idea what i am doing here. this just feels insane. >> a wicked sense of humor. >> what are you going to do if you lose? >> just go what? >> catapulted jennifer lawrence to the top. >> it is absolutely incredible. i feel incredibly blessed. >> starring in the biggest hits.

>> you can't really pigeon hole her into a certain type. >> winning the most prestigious award. >> it is just so unexpected. it feels like you are living in a dream. >> collect one of the largest paychecks for an actress under 30. >> she almost has a timeless quality to her which i do feel. >> never afraid to take chances. >> she is so much fun to work with and just so free and uninhibited. >> never afraid to fall down. >> what went through my mind when i fell down? a bad word that i can't say. >> dozens of celebrities were exposed when their photos were stolen on line. >> through it all resilient in the face of can sdal. >> she has a voice. she has thick skin. >> to night we feature our "cnn spotlight" on jennifer lawrence. >> the look. the laugh. and lat confident work. it is an attitude jennifer lawrence has had her whole life. >> see how she walks across. that's her right there. you have got to make a strong

start talking about auditions. >> her eighth grade acting coach remembers her well. >> she had that nonchalant. >> oh, hi. >> nothing is really going to bother me air about her. >> what? >> what is happening? >> what is happening is happening? >> she always said i am doing this. i am going to make it. >> years before the red carpet, hollywood's it girl was strutting her stuff across this stage. far from the spotlight. >> this is it. >> jennifer was here this would have been a classroom space. >> this very space. >> walden theater in louisville, kent ken, where jennifer lawrence calls home. >> she grew up in indian hills. a nice suburban neighborhood in louisville. >> local reporter josh moss

landed a rare interview with jennifer and her family in 2010. >> growing up here it was easy to be grounded in her family. family is really important to her. >> the youngest of three, jennifer was the first girl on her dad's side in 50 years. >> her brother ben said her nickname was nitro growing up. had so much energy. being around them, trying to follow in their footsteps. >> she can be roughed around. she had two older brothers. she can hold her own. >> amanda cornish knew the lawrences well especially jennifer. >> they're tight. they're supportive of each other. they work together. you look at them working on the camp hi-ho. >> they spent the summers at the family camp outside louisville. amanda was a counselor there. >> how important was the camp to the lawrence family? >> i think very important. because they got out of louisville and they got to go to the country. >> it was where jennifer loved horseback riding and eventually graduated from camper to assistant nurse. >> i was going to bea doctor.

i was always putting on shows. >> early on. a different dream started to stick. >> i was putting on an outfit and my name its judy. my car broke down. >> her knack for acting upstaged the family passion for sports. >> all jennifer wanted to do was play the positions where she could put on a costume. the catcher or the goalie. her mom said that jennifer would turn cart wheels down the field opposed to playing. >> jennifer was hooked. >> even at that young age she knew that's what she wanted to pursue. >> knowing the fact her family is a sports oriented family did they recognize that early on? >> her mother said had jennifer been able to throw a pitch. we would have recognized the talent. they were familiar with sports. but acting they didn't know what a good actor or actress was. >> like i was an actress. didn't realize it until i became an actress. then we were like oh, that makes sense. >> her first official performance came at age 9. she played a role at church.

>> her mother said they were doing a play about the book of jonah, her quote was she played a prostitute from niniva, she played the best little prostitute. she was laughing about it. she definitely stood out as somebody that absolutely wanted to do this. >> jennifer enrolled in her first acting class after her 14th birthday. >> do you remember her saying, charlie put me in? >> yeah, she was precocious. energetic. >> a few months she was performing in othello. her performance captured in this never before seen video. [ indiscernible dialogue ] >> so did the 14-year-old version of jennifer lawrence pull off shakespeare? >> i think so. she sings in the scene too.

she had to sing. >> that's brave. >> it doesn't surprise me she ha the courage to do that. she was determined and unflappable. >> when she wasn't performing. the budding star was just a normal student at camera middle school. >> one and two, and ready, and go. and -- ♪ where amanda cornish was also her band teacher. >> what was she like in class playing this oboe. >> quick wit. sarcasm. she could have a little punchline in at the end of something. and she created that little -- moments where it's like -- >> no surprise, jennifer was voted most talkative in her class. >> she talked quite a bit. i remember one of her teachers was like, having to get her to be quiet. put something in her mouth. >> like an oboe. >> but none of that distracted

this young woman from her goal. to be an actor. >> one of the reasons she stood out. she verbally expressed to me and any one around her that this is what she was going to do for her career. >> jennifer knew that meant leaving kentucky for new york city. >> when i was 14, my parents weren't going to let me do it. my brothers called and said, you know, you guys followed us through the world series, you've been all over the country for us. you would do this for us if it was sports. this is her baseball diamond. you have to let her do it. >> her mother said hopefully this will get out of her system. try this once. then it is over. >> so in the spring of 2005, jennifer and her mom flew to new york. coming up, lawrence fights for the role that could put her on the map. >> i had to chase them down. they said i didn't have the right look. i just kind of flew there to tell them, that didn't matter.

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the busy streets of new york city. far from the rolling hills of louisville, kentucky. it was spring break, 2005. a 14-year-old jennifer lawrence was chasing her dream. >> in union square watching the street dancers. and this guy comes out with the camera which both in hindsight her mother and jennifer said is creepy. >> hello, who are you? why do you want my picture?

>> with h & m, takes her photo. from then on different offers came in for ads. she landed modeling jobs and acting gigs look this commercial for mtv show my super sweet 16. for lawrence there was no turning back. >> she called one night and jennifer said, dad, i saw a rat as big as shadow the i asked her dad what is shadow? our big black cat. but the cool thing about that was that they knew she loved what she was doing. and where she was living. even though it was this crummy apartment in new york. 4 because she didn't complain about that at all. >> her parents still weren't so sure. but let jennifer stay through the summer. >> amanda cornish was working with jennifer's mother then. >> she was just nervous about her daughter going off into another direction. she was very supportive though. ♪ >> as the summer came to an end. her father flew to new york to

bring jennifer home for the beginning of the school here. but when he arrived, an agent called to bring jennifgenerajen angeles instead. >> i just remember when it was like she is not coming back. like, this is, where this is going to go. >> her career took off. jennifer moved to los angeles. >> i got scared. >> bit parts in several series, like "cold case," and "monk" and "medium." and then in july of 2007, a starring role in a new tv series. >> using the word hip means you are not. >> word. >> no. >> hound dog. >> please stop. >> i think it prepared her. creates a certain discipline in a lot of these actresses. >> a film reporter for the hollywood reporter. >> i'm still really mad at you. >> i think she always wanted roles that would challenge her. there aren't a lot of great tv

roles for women in their teens and 20s. >> lawrence's goal was the big screen. in 2007 she auditioned for the coveted role of bella swan in "twilight." she lost out to kristen stewart. it wouldn't be long before lawrence got another chance. and that would come from this man. >> she has the greatest talent i have seen in my life. raw talent. >> in 2007, he was casting a small independent film called "the burning plane" starring charlise thieron and kim bassinger. and he saw lawrence's audition tape on the very first day of casting and she knew sunny was the one. >> my family was happy too. >> the producers were not sure of having her. i say no, no, this is the girl i

want. >> and he got her. lawrence transformed from a fun-loving 17-year-old, into a serious actor. >> my sets are really relaxed. we have a lot of fun. but we are very serious, intense film. i said jennifer this is a difficult scene. you need concentration. don't worry. i am going to do it perfectly. >> mom! >> we began rolling. and i turned to this big guys, the crew, big strong guys, crying. and i was like -- wow. and she was, i told you. >> once the film wrapped, he knew this was the just beginning for jennifer lawrence. >> when we finished the film, i spoke to her and say "you are going to win many oscars.

you are going to be extremely famous. and the most important actress of your generation." ♪ way down in missouri where i heard this melody ♪ >> that prediction would come true almost immediately with her next film "winter's bone." >> i got a real bad need. >> lawrence played the daughter of a meth dealer in rural ozarks. a role she almost lost because film makers thought she was too pretty. >> i had to chase them down. they said i didn't have the right look. i flew there to tell them that didn't matter. >> it was a part that took her far from her louisville roots. but lawrence was determined. >> dad is your only brother. >> do you think i don't know that? >> john hocks plays uncle teardrop. scary character. a scene where he grabs her hair and pulls her down.

she kept telling him, bring in. just bring it. they would do take after take. he would say am i hurting you. she said no, do it again. >> a performance that brought critical acclaim. >> it's just so unexpected. it just kind of feels look you are living in this dream. >> jennifer lawrence in "wint "winter's bone." >> a dream that led to a best actress nod for lawrence making her one of the youngest oscar nominees ever. >> she probably never thought she would be talked about an oscar with her name. >> and probably never thought that she would be meeting some of hollywood's biggest names. >> she had a meeting at dreamworks with steven spielberg. what did you do after you met with steven spielberg? she said, i want to my car and cried. what else do you do after you meet steven spielberg? >> you look for your next role. >> and this time, it was "the hunger games" a big picture, big budget adaptation of the hit

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>> march 12, 2012. hunger games premiere. excitement even hysteria. for the film's star. jennifer lawrence. >> unbelievable. humbling. amazing for an actress in the film business just four years. i volunteer. volunteer as tribute. >> hunger game was her biggest budget. highest profile movie to date. >> this is the time to show them everything. make sure they remember you. >> every young actress wanted the role. jennifer lawrence just, really fought harder for it. time for the tour. lawrence had done action before. playing the mystique in the x men sequel. but hunger games was different. the physical demand were intense. months of training turned her

into a warrior. >> she is somebody who sort of had muscle tone and, you looked at her and she is not like the 90-pound person with a cross bow. like she looks like she could actually. she looks like she can climb a tree. >> something her former director and friend, says was close to home for jennifer. >> resembles her life in kentucky. she knows the woods. she knows how to fish. her mom used to have a campground for kids in the woods. >> the film was a box office record breaker. jennifer lawrence was now a household name. >> i think that jennifer's performance in "the hunger games" deserves an oscar nomination. >> but that second nomination would have to wait until lawrence's next film "silver linings playbook." >> i am just the crazy slut with a dead husband. >> lawrence played a promiscuous widow battling her demons.

a role initially intended for an older actress. this is a role that angelina jolie was slated to play. think of the age range between angelina jolie and jennifer lawrence you are talking 15 years. >> we were concerned she was too young for the role. silver linings director, david o. russell. >> all most has a timeless quality. some times seems like 18. sometimes seems like she is 40. she is not afraid to jump in and do it. >> i'm the reason why today happened? >> i think so. >> let's talk about that? >> be my guest. >> not afraid to go head-to-head with screen legend robert de niro. >> i did my research. >> i got to say i am impressed. >> i learned from example. he is very calm and nice. and gets it done. >> it is a performance that won lawrence nearly every award,

including her first oscar. >> it is actually incredible. yeah, i have been incredibly blessed. >> blessed, not just by her talent but by a sense of humor. when she fell in front of millions when accepting her academy award in 2013. >> what went through my mind. when i fell down? a bad word that i can't say. >> it is those kind of real moments that you see often with lawrence. >> you got a fan here. >> like when hollywood legend jack nicholson fawned all over her on "good morning america" when she won the oscar. >> my biggest nightmare. >> or on late-night television. >> i get really hyper. i am like really hyper. so then i go on interviews, i am a chihuahua, shaking and peeing. afterwards, i'm like i just talked about paying on the red carpet.

>> old friends like amanda cornish say it's not an act. >> as soon as they ask a question she has got something to come back with. or if something funny happens. whatever she fills it in with. >> no filter. >> no filter. >> you saw that? >> back in the day? >> that was even there in eighth grade. >> unguarded, uncensored spirit that has all of hollywood lining up to work with her. >> she is so much fun to work with. just so free. uninhibited. >> amy adams starred opposite lawrence in "american hustle." >> a ring on my finger. we have a child together. >> roles that landed them both academy award nominations. >> you know sometimes in life all you have are [ bleep ] poisonous choices. >> i remember thinking -- there is nothing this girl can't do. >> yet she is unfazed by the fame and celebrity that has been the downfall of so many young stars.

>> i don't see her going any other direction. i think she will stay pretty rooted to being, i want to say a country girl. knowing where she has come from, and how she was raised. >> she has a little bit of kentucky in her forever. >> yep. >> something she has needed over the past couple of months as people scrutinized her love life, or as hackers stole her personal pictures and posted them. >> i think she handled it great. she sort of, very rightly so, said i am a victim here. like any one who looks at these is, sort of like really creepy. like you are, you are feeding into something that is like a crime. >> she has thick skin. she has got a voice. >> a voice lawrence has used to climb to the top. a voice in the same league as one of hollywood's all-time greats. >> i think that she deserves to be in the same sentence as meryl streep. even at her young age. >> and a voice certain to

resonate for years to come. >> tonight on "unguarded" with rachel nichols -- the indianapolis colts andrew luck reveals what it's like being the nfl's top young quarterback. >> certain points it is uncomfortable. based on person, my personality. i tend to try to avoid, you know, the spotlight. >> after six-time olympic goal medalist, amy van dyken broke her spine in a crash she was told she would never walk again. she is not listening. >> i am not good at taking no. i was not supposed to win a bronze. let's not tell me i'm not supposed to walk. let's move forward. >> bulls' guard, derek rose, opens up after having his health and heart constantly questioned. >> i could care less what people think about me. it don't affect me at all.