Fame and fortune often makes us think of the usual celebrity artifice that goes hand in hand with anyone big-name in Hollywood: An endless cash flow, million-dollar bank accounts, extravagance, excess, prime real estate, luxury cars — maybe a little bankruptcy thrown in for good measure.
Not every star and starlet out there lives up (or down, however you look at it) to this stereotype. In fact, many well-known A-listers are actually some of the most financially responsible people … even more than regular people. One star that’s continually pointed to as a perfect example is Jennifer Lawrence. Though the Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook star’s financial wealth is climbing, she’s known for staying frugal.
At just 22 years old, Lawrence has been thrifty and realistic right from the start, making her a good role model for younger people who haven’t yet developed good money habits yet.
Jennifer Lawrence: Oscar Winner and Frugal, Too
“J. Law” was born into a middle-class family in Louisville, KY, in 1990. She’s credited her mother, a camp counselor, and her father, a former construction firm owner, for instilling in her good financial values from the start.
“I was raised to have value for money, to have respect for money, even though you have a lot of it,” she told the U.K. magazine Fabulous last month. “My family is not the kind of family that would ever let me turn into an a**hole or anything like that, so I am fortunate to have them.”
What kinds of frugal banking habits does Lawrence practice? For one, she lives in the same 3-bedroom apartment since she moved to Los Angeles several years ago, and hasn’t rushed out to buy a house yet.
Lawrence has no personal assistants to do her shopping and she won’t be found frequenting any uber-high-scale stores, preferring to clip coupons like the rest of us.
She’s also cautious to use valet parking, but she compensates by driving an economical car. Lawrence still has the same Volkswagen she’s owned for years now — unlike other rich stars, she hasn’t run out to buy a Bentley or Bugatti. Since her Best Actress win for The Silver Linings Playbook, she has been spotted in a new Chevy Volt, but at a $39,000 price tag, it’s 10 times cheaper than what most other celebrities get behind the wheel of.
“I still look for bargains when I go to the market,” she said in another interview. “What I am doing now is allowing someone to park my car but for that I have to pay four bucks.”
Lawrence also said that she can’t envision spending lots of money on frivolous purchases — think $6 for a Snicker bar. Frugality is so ingrained in her lifestyle, she apologetically admitted that a $500 order of Gummy Bears while hanging out with Lenny Kravitz was, in fact, an accidental purchase.
Top of the A-List
Her thrifty lifestyle is impressive for anyone, but it’s made more remarkable for the fact that Jennifer Lawrence’s net worth is in the millions of dollars … soon to be the tens of millions. As of this year, the actress’ total worth is estimated between $2 million to $7 million, according to several sources, and will soon grow with a number of upcoming film roles.
For Jennifer Lawrence, salary growth has happened at a meteoric pace since her film career started blossoming in 2010. She was only paid a scale rate for her role in 2010′s Winter’s Bone. Despite receiving an Oscar nomination for that film, many people criticized Lawrence’s modest $500,000 pay for the first Hunger Games installment last year, considering how the movie grossed more than $691 million.
“Seeing as the movie has surely beaten any and all goals … we expect Lawrence should be receiving her payout,” said Kirsten Acuna of Business Insider upon the film’s release last year.
According to publication Screen Rant and other sources, Lawrence will be getting her due, after her Best Actress win and past X-Men success: For the Hunger Games’ upcoming sequel, Catching Fire, she’ll earn $10 million, placing her on the fast track in a few years to become one of the world’s highest paid actresses.
A Silver-Lined Financial Future
Combined with her smart financial choices, Lawrence is one of Hollywood’s rare figures, commanding high earnings through pure talent — and using them to good measure. The actress isn’t an older star who learned her financial lesson after years of money problems. She’s also not a ticking time bomb like the Lindsey Lohans of the world. She’s someone who can afford the best, but chooses to spend only enough to get by.
Lawrence is part of a new generation of financially literate celebrities (like Zooey Deschanel), smart with the money choices they make in life. Anyone young or old can take several cues from her on striking a good balance between earning and spending — proof that not all million-dollar celebrities are wasteful with their finances.
SEE ALSO: 17 things you should always buy new >
Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
     |