Laura Dern

Early life

Laura Elizabeth Dern was born on February 10, 1967, in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, and great-granddaughter of former Utah governor and Secretary of War George Dern. Laura was conceived while her parents were filming The Wild Angels. Poet, writer, and Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish was her great-great-uncle. After her parents divorced when she was two years old, Dern was largely brought up by her mother and maternal grandmother, Mary, who had Norwegian ancestry, from Oslo. She was raised Catholic. Her godmother was actress Shelley Winters. She developed scoliosis as a child.

Her first film foray was an appearance as an extra in White Lightning (1973), a film in which her mother starred. Her official film debut was an appearance opposite her mother in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). In 1982, Dern, aged just 15, served as Miss Golden Globe. In the same year, she portrayed a rebellious rock band member in the cult film Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. At 16, after doubling on her classes to graduate high school a semester early, she sought and attained emancipation, which allowed her to work the same number of hours as an adult on films. After moving out of her home at the age of 17, Dern became roommates with Marianne Williamson, who is 15 years older. Dern later enrolled at UCLA intending to double major in psychology and journalism, but withdrew two days into the quarter to film Blue Velvet.

Career

1980–1999: Career beginnings and breakthrough

Dern got her first credited role, and starred alongside Jodie Foster in the 1980 coming-of-age film Foxes. At the age of 11, she had originally auditioned for a different role after telling casting directors that she was 14. In 1985, she was cast in the film Smooth Talk two weeks before production began as protagonist Connie Wyatt, a carefree 15-year-old girl who grabs the attention of a predatory stranger. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic category in 1986 and received largely favorable reviews. It is seen as the film that launched Dern's career.

Between 1985 and 1990, Dern gained critical acclaim for her performances in Mask, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart. The latter two were directed by David Lynch, which began a longstanding collaboration between Dern and Lynch. In the biographical drama film Mask, she played Diana Adams, a blind girl who becomes Rocky Dennis's love interest, starring alongside Eric Stoltz and Cher. At the age of 17, she played Sandy Williams, one of the starring roles alongside Kyle MacLachlan and Isabella Rossellini, in the critically successful mystery thriller film Blue Velvet. It is widely regarded as Dern's breakthrough performance.

In 1990, Dern once again collaborated with Lynch, and starred opposite Nicolas Cage in the black comedy crime film Wild At Heart, in which Dern played a vastly different character from her previous role in Blue Velvet. Dern called the role an opportunity 'to play not only a very sexual person, but also someone who was, in her own way, incredibly comfortable with herself'. The film, which had won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, was met with generally positive reviews from critics, but polarized some audiences at the time. Ladd appeared in a supporting role for the film.

Dern was cast for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), but lost the role due to studio's skepticism about her level of fame at the time. In 1992, Dern and Ladd became the first mother and daughter to be nominated for Academy Awards for acting in the same film for their performances in Rambling Rose. Ladd received a Best Supporting Actress nomination, and Dern received one for Best Actress. The following year, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Air Force widow Janet Harduvel in the 1992 television film Afterburn.

2000–2011: Further film and television career

In 2000, Robert Altman cast Dern in his comedy Dr. T & the Women. In 2001, Dern reprised her role as Ellie in Jurassic Park III, which was directed by Johnston, whom she had worked with in October Sky. Originally hesitant to return for a cameo, Dern was convinced when it was suggested by executive producer Steven Spielberg to the writers, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor who had previously collaborated with Dern for Citizen Ruth, to have the character play an important role by saving the other characters. That same year, she co-starred in Within These Walls and Arthur Miller's Focus. In Billy Bob Thornton's film Daddy and Them, Dern played the wife of the husband. She starred in the film I Am Sam as Randy Carpenter, a woman running a foster home. In 2002, she starred in the film Damaged Care. In 2004, she starred in the film We Don't Live Here Anymore. Dern starred in the 2005 film Happy Endings, and in the same year, she appeared in the film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.

In 2006, Dern reunited with director David Lynch for the third time after Blue Velvet and Wild At Heart in the experimental film Inland Empire which was largely shot on a hand-held Sony DSR-PD150 by Lynch himself and without a complete screenplay. Dern played an actress, Nikki Grace, who starts to take on the personality of the character she plays. The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival to polarized reviews, the majority being positive, where Dern admitted that she was not sure what the film was about, but has said she would sign up for any project with Lynch. Retrospectively, Dern's performance was named the 19th greatest movie performance of the 21st century by The Ringer. That same year, Dern had a supporting role in Lonely Hearts. She starred in Mike White's directorial debut film Year of the Dog, alongside Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, and Peter Sarsgaard. In 2008, Dern starred as Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris in Recount, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. The following year, Dern appeared in the independent drama Tenderness, and in 2010, she appeared in Little Fockers, portraying Prudence, an elementary school principal.

In November 2010, Dern and her parents Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern were presented with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first family to do so. In October 2011, she starred in a new HBO comedy-drama television series titled Enlightened in which she also served as co-creator and executive producer. Dern played Amy Jellicoe, a "health and beauty executive who returns from a post-meltdown retreat to pick up the pieces of her broken life." Dern brought screenwriter Mike White, whom she collaborated with on Year of the Dog, back into television work after he had suffered an on-the-job meltdown of his own. The series received critical acclaim and lasted two seasons. Dern's mother Diane Ladd plays the major supporting role of Helen Jellicoe, Dern's character's mother in the series. Dern received her third Golden Globe Award and fifth nomination, her first in the Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy category for her performance. She was also nominated for her fifth Primetime Emmy Award, her first in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category.

2012–present: Later career and acclaim

In 2012, Dern starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's psychological drama film The Master. In 2014, she co-starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in Jean-Marc Vallée's biographical drama film Wild portraying the character of Bobbi, mother of Cheryl Strayed in flashback scenes, for which she received her second Academy Award nomination (Best Supporting Actress). That same year, she portrayed Frannie Lancaster in the coming-of-age romance film The Fault In Our Stars and she portrays Beverly Ladouceur in the sports drama film When the Game Stands Tall directed by Thomas Carter, starring Jim Caviezel and produced by David Zelon for Mandalay Pictures. She portrayed Lynn Nash, a widowed mother and grandmother who gets evicted with her family, in 2014's 99 Homes alongside Andrew Garfield.

In 2017, Dern reteamed with both Witherspoon and Vallée from Wild and The Fault In Our Stars co-star Shailene Woodley for the 2017 HBO miniseries Big Little Lies, the latter who Dern had helped convince to join the cast. For her portrayal as the fierce and high-powered tech CEO Renata Klein in the series, Dern won her first Primetime Emmy Award and her fourth Golden Globe Award. That same year, she collaborated for the fourth time with David Lynch, appearing as Diane Evans in the third season of the mystery serial drama television series Twin Peaks and joined the Star Wars franchise, portraying Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo in Rian Johnson's space opera film Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

In 2018, Dern starred as professor and documentary filmmaker Jennifer Fox, recalling her traumatic past in the autobiographical feature film The Tale, written and directed by Fox. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018, to a standing ovation, and later on HBO on May 26, 2018. Dern received her seventh Primetime Emmy nomination for the role in the category Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie. That same year, she starred in two biographical drama films, Trial By Fire and JT LeRoy as the author Laura Albert.

In 2019, Dern reprised her role of Renata Klein in Big Little Lies after the series was renewed for a second season where she once again received critical acclaim and received her eighth Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In the same year, Dern starred in two films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The first is Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, portraying divorce lawyer Nora Fanshaw, which was written by Baumbach with Dern in mind for the role. For her performance, Dern received major awards, including winning her first Academy Award from three nominations, winning the first and only Oscar in an acting category for Netflix, and also won the BAFTA, SAG, and the Golden Globe. The second is Greta Gerwig's film adaptation of Little Women, where she portrayed Marmee March. In 2020, she served as an executive producer on the animated short film If Anything Happens I Love You, which was released on Netflix, and was a producer on the documentary film The Way I See It.

Personal life

Relationships and children

Dern was in a relationship with her Blue Velvet co-star Kyle MacLachlan from 1985 to 1989. She began dating Jeff Goldblum while filming Jurassic Park, and the relationship ended in 1997. Dern also dated Billy Bob Thornton from 1997 to 1999. They were engaged until she discovered he was dating Angelina Jolie. In autumn 2000, Dern began dating musician Ben Harper after they met at one of his concerts. Harper and Dern married on December 23, 2005, at their home in Los Angeles. They have two children together, son Ellery Walker (born August 21, 2001) and daughter Jaya (born November 2004). Through this marriage, Dern became stepmother to Harper's children from his first marriage. The two finalized their divorce in 2013.

On October 18, 2017, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal, Dern appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and revealed that she had been sexually assaulted at age 14.

Political views and activism

During the 2009 Golden Globes, Dern expressed support for the incoming administration of Barack Obama during her acceptance speech for her Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film win, stating: "I will cherish this as a reminder of the extraordinary, incredible outpouring of people who demanded their voice be heard in this last election so we can look forward to amazing change in this country. Thank you so much!"

An activist and supporter of various charities, Dern advocated Down syndrome awareness in a cover story for Ability Magazine. In 2018, Dern brought activist Mónica Ramírez to the 75th Golden Globe Awards as a guest. In September 2018, Dern asked people to vote for Dean Phillips in his congressional race, while on her way to the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony. In the same year, she attended a Families Belong Together event and expressed her support for immigrants' rights. She is also an advocate for women's rights, gender pay parity, as well as combating gun violence and climate change. In 2019, she became a board member of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Dern is an ambassador for the American Lung Association and serves as an Advisor to the group's National Board of Directors.

Filmography