Jennifer Lawrence Leaked Nude Photos: Will Scandal Harm Her Career?

The nude photo leak scandal – in which private snaps of Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Brown Findlay, Kirsten Dunst and dozens more female celebrities were released onto the web – has rightly sparked a discussion about security and privacy.

But for those involved, like ‘Hunger Games’ star Lawrence, the impact of the invasion will not be limited to the current press attention. After all, the Oscar winner, along with most of the others, is young and still building her resume. So the question is – beyond the hurt she and the other victims are currently feeling – what will this do to her career?

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Some women’s professional success has been built off the back of leaked sexual imagery, such as Kim Kardashian (N.B. we’re not condoning the leak, just noting its effect) and Paris Hilton.

But these women are solely celebrities, whose private lives are deliberately shared for maximum coverage to the extent that it blurs into their public personas.

That’s not the case with Lawrence, Findlay and co. Yes, they are famous and yes, they trade on their beauty in campaigns for brands such as Dior. But in the case of Lawrence, she’s an award-winning actress, possibly the most successful of the modern era. Will these pics damage her credibility as an artist? Will producers look elsewhere, worried that her reputation, such as it is, has been tarnished?

One could possibly look to other women who have suffered similarly for an answer. Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, ‘Thor’ actress Kat Dennings and Blake Lively have all been the victim of hackers over the past few years, reproducing their private nudity in public (Lively’s reps maintain hers is fake). So too have Ashley Greene from ‘Twilight’ and Vanessa Hudgens, who most recently starred in ‘Spring Breakers’.

Thankfully, no careers have been ruined. ScarJo (who is rumoured to be on this most recent list too) even had her biggest year yet in 2014, with ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, ‘Under The Skin’ and ‘Lucy’ demonstrating both her box office clout and on-screen versatility.

Hudgens stretched herself in ‘Spring Breakers’, showing off a hitherto unforeseen sexuality on film. Lively has focused more on her marriage to Ryan Reynolds, while Dennings maintains a successful TV career as well as dipping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Certainly the rightful outcry over this leak will also help. There is no sense that a bunch of wannabe stars released photos ‘accidentally on purpose’ to raise their profile.

Nevertheless, the most interesting  cases will be actresses on the list who are on the brink of potential stardom such as ex-Downton Abbey-er Jessica Brown Findlay (whose most recent film, coincidentally, was opposite fellow leaked sex taper Colin Farrell).

Will the unfortunate increase in celebrity and internet clicks help them or hinder them? Might they be perceived as not family-friendly simply because of something they did in the privacy of their own home?

Or will the unasked-for notoriety make them more desirable to producers always looking for an angle to sell? If any of this is the case, then it would be yet another sad fallout from what is already a story that has sparked debate and controversy.

Let’s hope talented female actors remain just that – people working to improve their craft and pay their bills, rather than punchlines.

Photos: PA