Jennifer Lawrence is a star on the rise. Between her Hunger Games characterizations, her more grown-up turn in American Hustle, and the much-lauded Silver Linings Playbook, no one bets against JLaw.

Recently, Shirley MacLaine spoke with Vanity Fair about a conversation she had with Lawrence in a “long evening” arranged by a mutual friend. MacLaine had advice for the up and coming star.

“I was very impressed with how real she was and still so tied to her real life and her upbringing and her boyfriend of years,” MacLaine said. “[My advice] was mostly stuff about knowing who you are. ‘Find your identity because you are going to be in for a rough ride if you don’t.’”

Lawrence has already had more action than actresses of Shirley MacLaine’s generation endured throughout their careers. A nude photo leak scandal, a quick relationship with Chris Martin of Coldplay, and she is already the second-highest paid actress in Hollywood, just behind Sandra Bullock.

While Lawrence is not still with that ‘boyfriend of years,’ MacLaine is still keeping an eye on her.

“It’s going to be interesting to hear what happens with her and leading men,” she said.

Speaking of leading men, one might think that MacLaine pines for the old days when she was wooed by the likes of Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, and Danny Kaye.

“You might romanticize the past and think that [these current actors] don’t stack up but I think they do,” she says. “Remember, we were living in a different age. So Frank and Dean [Martin] had Vegas and this feeling of mystery mob behind them—this whole sort of, ‘I wonder what it’s really like to know them.’ sort of thing. That doesn’t happen today because people are so open about everything they do. But George Clooney and Ben Affleck, they are here for good.”

“I love Ryan Gosling,” she added.“I wish he’d smile more. Don’t know what his problem is.”