Spending much of their lives in their home state of Kentucky, parents Gary and Karen Lawrence were green to the Hollywood scene before their daughter, Jennifer Lawrence, became a star on the silver screen. During Jennifer’s childhood, Gary worked as the owner of a construction firm while Karen operated a day camp in Simpsonville, Kentucky called Camp Hi-Ho. J-Law actually worked as an assistant nurse at the outdoorsy camp, which offers everything from horseback riding to arts and crafts to playing with puppies at the camp’s in-house adoption shelter. In a 2019 interview with Style Blueprint, matriarch Karen noted that she serves as a board member for the Louisville Orchestra as well as the Kentucky Film Commission. Jennifer’s parents also created the Lawrence Family Foundation, which helps to support children’s initiatives in Louisville.
“When I was growing up, it was always important for our family to give back,” Karen imparted to the publication about their charity. “With Jennifer’s notoriety, we had a bigger platform to have more exposure and raise more money, meaning we had more money to share.”
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When Jennifer became a household name, Hollywood quirks like the city’s newspapers tracking your real estate listings began to apply to Karen and Gary as well. In 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that the couple sold the original home they purchased back in 2006 when they relocated to L.A. for Jennifer’s career for $1.15 million in exchange for a home over $2.75 million.
