Jennifer Lawrence has spoken many times about how Hollywood mistreats it's female stars.

She often discusses the impossible beauty standards she and others are held to. In 2016 she told Harper's Bazaar US that it was unfair for her to be celebrated as an archetypal 'normal body', when she actually 'work[s] out a lot more than a normal person.'

Back in 2015 she was wrote a trailblazing essay forLena Dunham's Lenny Letter, questioning why she was paid less than her male co-stars for her Oscar-nominated performance in American Hustle.

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Despite her outspoken nature, however, Lawrence is not immune to the difficulties thrown her way. In an interview with Oprah for The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed how the 2014 leak of her private photos left her feeling extremely vulnerable and affected her career choices.

She explained to the TV host that she avoided choosing 'sexier' rolesL: 'I just thought, 'I'll never do that again. I'll never share that part of myself ever since it got shared against my will.''

These feelings may have been compounded by a #MeToo story the Oscar-winner shared at ELLE US' Women in Hollywood event last October.

She detailed a horrific abuse of power by a female producer:

A female producer had me do a nude lineup with about five women who were much, much thinner than me. And we all stood side-by-side with only paste-ons covering our privates. After that degrading and humiliating lineup, the female producer told me I should use the naked photos of myself as inspiration for my diet.

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Now, the 27 year-old has revealed how she has begun to move on from these traumatic experiences.

Her latest film Red Sparrow charts a dancer as she is trained to be a seductress and hit-woman. The role requires both strength and an element of sexuality, something that she found challenging.

In a new interview with Total Film, she has revealed how the nudity in this film has helped her regain what she felt was taken from her previously, since she had to reenact the terrible moments that had happened to her before:

My character is told to strip in front of the class, and I had to strip in front of a class and an entire crew. I worked myself up [about the scene], I was really nervous. But Francis made me feel so much more comfortable. Everybody made me feel like I had clothes on. And then when I finished, I just walked out feeling empowered. I felt amazing.

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She explained how how choice and context play a massive role in how nudity can be empowering, rather than degrading:

'Nudity by choice is a completely different thing from being violated. This was my choice, and it was for my craft. It's important to remember that there is a difference.'

And that this film has been a turning point in her survival of the invasion of privacy she endured:

'It was never my choice for the world to see my naked body. I didn't get to make that decision. In doing this film, in doing this for my art… I really felt, I still feel, empowered. I feel like I took something back that was taken from me.'

Many survivors of various sexual abuse or violation feel as though their control over their sexuality has been taken from them, so it's heartening to see how having agency in her new film has transformed Lawrence's perspective.

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Daisy Murray
Digital Fashion Editor

Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.