In her still relatively young acting career, Oona Laurence is best known for playing the daughter of Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in the movie Southpaw. This film was released back in 2015, when she was 13 years old. Also working with her on the project were Forest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, among others.
The opportunity to collaborate with such stars was a masterclass for Laurence, who revealed that she leaned a lot on her co-stars’ experience for her own performance. Before starring in Southpaw, the young actress had featured in movies like I Smile and Lamb, as well as an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her next major role after Southpaw was the 2016 comedy film Bad Moms, which featured Mila Kunis as its biggest star.
This was another chance for Laurence to continue working with the best in the industry, as they were also joined by the likes of Kristen Bell and Jada Pinkett Smith in the cast line-up.
For Kunis, Bad Moms might have been a welcome departure from the kind of roles that she had in prior movies like Black Swan and Jupiter Ascending, which she had described as being very “physically draining” to shoot. It was a completely different case for Laurence; her experience on the set of Bad Moms involved a lot of anxiety, induced by the presence of stars like Kunis.
Oona Laurence Played Mila Kunis’ Character's Daughter In Bad Moms
The story of Bad Moms followed a group of overworked and stressed out mothers who decide to let loose and have some fun. These women are Amy Mitchell (the role played by Mila Kunis), Kiki Moore (Kristen Bell) and Carla Dunkler (Kathryn Hahn). Oona Laurence featured in the film as Jane Mitchell, the daughter of Kunis’ Amy. She also has a brother called Dylan, who was portrayed by Emjay Anthony.
Jane was depicted in Bad Moms as being a smart and ambitious teenager who is constantly pressured by the demands of her perfectionist mother. As the story progresses, she finds herself in the crosshairs of Amy’s fights with other grown-ups, even being framed for hiding joints in her school locker.
Although not all reviews of Bad Moms were positive, the film did really well with audiences, and racked up a profit of more than $150 million at the box office. Laurence and the rest of the main cast returned for a sequel titled A Bad Moms Christmas one year later. This, too, performed really well commercially, with a box office profit of around $100 million.
Oona Laurence Was Intimidated By Mila Kunis On The Set Of Bad Moms
Oona Laurence’s experience before her star turn in Bad Moms meant that she had already had the experience of working with Hollywood royalty. Unfortunately for her, this did not help the anxiety she would face being in the presence of Mila Kunis and the rest of the mega stars in the movie. Even then, she managed to take it all in her stride.
“I [was] intimidated to be among all these stars,” Laurence said in a statement, as was reported by Indulge. “[But] it’s really cool. They are having the best time, and it feels like a dream.” She also took it all in that first time, and managed to have a much more relaxed outlook when working on the sequel.
Speaking at what was described as “a white-carpet event” for A Bad Moms Christmas in 2017, Laurence said: “[Mila] is just such an inspiring person… I mean, honestly, I feel so lucky to even be in the same room as her! She is amazing, I love her.”
Will Oona Laurence Be In “Bad Moms 3?”
Following the success of Bad Moms and A Bad Moms Christmas, plans for a third installment were first announced in April 2019. This was a marked departure from the first sequel, however, which had been released within one and a half years of the original movie. Any updates on plans for the production of the third film also appeared to go quiet after a while.
Susan Sarandon — who played Carla’s mother Isis in A Bad Moms Christmas — told Us Weekly in June 2021 that she was still hoping to return to the Bad Moms world. “I hope they get that script together,” she said. “We had so much fun. Those ladies are just a blast and so fun to work with. So I hope [that plans for a third film materialize].”
With those plans seemingly still in the air, there is no telling if Oona Laurence will reprise her role as Jane in Bad Moms 3, if and when it does happen. By April 2023, she had also not been in any other movies or TV shows since playing Liz Lerue in A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting in 2020.
