Jennifer Lawrence is opening up for the first time about being the victim of a nude photo hack, in a Vanity Fair cover story.

"I was just so afraid. I didn’t know how this would affect my career," Lawrence is quoted as saying.

"Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this," the 24-year-old told the magazine.

The Hunger Games actor is one of dozens of female celebrities targeted in a series of data breaches that saw intimate images circulate widely over the internet.

In the cover story for the magazine's November issue, the Oscar-winning actress revealed how she felt when the photos appeared online.

"It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It's my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world."

Lawrence blames websites

Lawrence also demanded changes to the legal system to stop hackers and others from benefiting from the violation of women on the internet, telling the magazine "It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime."

"It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change. That’s why these websites are responsible. Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody’s mind is to make a profit from it."

Lawrence's first comments on the issue emerged just days after a Hollywood lawyer representing over a dozen female celebrities threatened Google with $100-million lawsuit over what he alleges is the tech giant's failure to remove the photos.

It's not clear if Lawrence is represented by the law firm in question, but a representative for Lawrence said in early September that anyone caught posting photographs of the actress would be aggressively pursued for prosecution by her legal counsel.

Forced to tell her father

Lawrence also opened up about the difficult call she had to make to her father when the nude photos began to surface.

"I don’t care how much money I get for The Hunger Games," said the star who made a reported $34 million last year.

"I promise you, anybody given the choice of that kind of money or having to make a phone call to tell your dad that something like that has happened, it’s not worth it."

Despite the emotional interview, the actress's wry sense of humour peeked through while recounting the moment: "Fortunately, he was playing golf, so he was in a good mood."

Vanity Fair will make the full 3,000-word article available online Wednesday.

The magazine hits newsstands on Oct.14.