JLaw's postpartum comments hit hard
Plus: 😵💫 'Silent' perimenopause 🍼 Hailey Bieber's baby era 🎶 female festival acts
Jennifer Lawrence recently opened up about how postpartum isolation made her feel like an alien. In her new film Die, My Love, she plays a mother unravelling into psychosis - and for those who’ve been through postnatal depression, her performance might feel painfully familiar. Scroll down to read the experience of our Editorial Director Louise Ridley.
Welcome back to Take The Lead, the fortnightly newsletter from The Female Lead.
Here’s your roundup of our most-read and most-subscribed-to articles of the last month.
We’re talking about the silent symptoms of perimenopause (yep, including forgetting your car keys and feeling like a stranger to yourself) and Hailey Bieber’s comments about how motherhood has dramatically changed her life.
Chances are, a song by Charli XCX, Raye, or Doechii is in your playlist right now - so why aren’t they headlining your favourite festival?
And F1 Academy boss Susie Wolff is done with the myth that women can’t compete in elite motorsport. If you’ve ever been told it’s a man’s world, this one’s for you.
Enjoy this issue, share it if you like it, and please reply directly to this email to let us know what you think.
Catch up on our most recent full newsletter here, if you missed it.
Jennifer Lawrence going “full feral” in postpartum movie Die, My Love will resonate with many mothers
It’s reassuring to know that Jennifer Lawrence has felt like an alien.
5 ‘silent symptoms’ of perimenopause you might not be expecting
By Emma Thomas, coach and founder of Managing the Menopause
Hailey Bieber: I'm “not the same person" since having a baby
Model and entrepreneur Hailey Bieber says she has changed “head to toe” since having her first child with hus…
Women are dominating music. So why are festival lineups still full of men?
The 2025 Grammys made it impossible to ignore: Beyoncé finally won album of the year. Doechii became the thir…
Women belong in Formula 1, says F1 Academy director as Netflix show airs
When people say women can’t compete in the top levels of motorsports like men, Susie Wolff d…
Young women's dream world doesn't include the internet
More than half of young women would rather live in a world without the internet, but the same is not true of men, new research has found - lending weight to the idea that women’s online liv…
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