Jennifer Lawrence had a ‘feminist meltdown’ over whether to take husband’s surname

The actor married Cooke Marone in 2019

Jennifer Lawrence has revealed that she has taken on the surname of her husband, Cooke Maroney.

The Don’t Look Up actor married Maroney, an art gallery director, in October 2019. The couple have a baby boy named Cy, who was born in February this year.

As noted in a new interview for The New York Times, Lawrence carried a phone case bearing the initials “JLM” – suggesting she has changed her name to Jennifer Lawrence Maroney.

When reminded that she shares the same last name as Jenna Maroney – a fictional character who appears in the US sitcom, 30 Rock, Lawrence exclaimed: “I thought I was the only one who noticed that!”

Explaining the change in her name, Lawrence said it had been a difficult decision.

“God, I had such a feminist meltdown about changing my name because it’s my identity, it’s the first thing I’m given,” she said.

However, she came round to the idea of sharing a name with both her husband and son because it would allow her to differentiate between her personal life and public persona.

She also reflected on how her rise to fame – after appearing in The Hunger Games aged 21 – changed her perception of what her name meant.

“I was born with the name Jennifer Lawrence, but that got taken from me when I was 21 and I never got it back,” Lawrence said.

“So, it didn’t feel like I was giving up anything. That name already belongs to them.”

She further doubled down on her comments when asked to “visualise” what Jennifer Lawrence looks like.

“Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen, I guess,” Lawrence said, referring to the character she played in the franchise. “Is that weird?”

“Those movies were fantastic. The only thing that gave me pause was just how famous it would make me.”