After winning two Golden Globes for her performances asKatherine Harris in the television filmRecount (2008), and Amy Jellicoe in the comedy seriesEnlightened (2011–2013), Dern garnered her second Academy Award nomination for her performance as the mother ofCheryl Strayed in the biopicWild (2014). She portrayed Renata Klein in the drama seriesBig Little Lies, winning a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, and reunited with Lynch forInland Empire andTwin Peaks: The Return. She had supporting roles in the filmsStar Wars: The Last Jedi (2017),Little Women (2019), andMarriage Story (2019). Her performance as a divorce lawyer inMarriage Story won her anAcademy Award and her fifthGolden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress.
Her first film foray was an appearance as an extra inWhite Lightning (1973), a film in which her mother starred.[8] Her official film debut was an appearance opposite her mother inAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974).[9] In 1982, Dern, aged just 15, served asMiss Golden Globe.[10] In the same year, she portrayed a rebellious rock band member in the cult filmLadies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains.[11] At 16,[12] after doubling on her classes to graduate high school a semester early,[13] she sought and attainedemancipation,[14] which allowed her to work the same number of hours as an adult on films.[8] After moving out of her home at the age of 17, Dern became roommates withMarianne Williamson, who is 15 years older. Dern later enrolled atUCLA intending to double major in psychology and journalism, but withdrew two days into the quarter to filmBlue Velvet.[13]
Dern got her first credited role, and starred alongsideJodie Foster in the 1980 coming-of-age filmFoxes. At the age of 11, she had originally auditioned for a different role after telling casting directors that she was 14.[15][13][16] In 1985, she was cast two weeks before production began as protagonist Connie Wyatt, a carefree 15-year-old girl who grabs the attention of a predatory stranger, in the filmSmooth Talk. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at theSundance Film Festival in the Dramatic category in 1986[17] and received largely favorable reviews. It is seen as the film that launched Dern's career.[18]
Between 1985 and 1990, Dern gained critical acclaim for her performances inMask,Blue Velvet, andWild at Heart. The latter two were directed byDavid Lynch, which began a longstanding collaboration between Dern and Lynch.[19] In the biographical drama filmMask, she played Diana Adams, a blind girl who becomesRocky Dennis's love interest, starring alongsideEric Stoltz andCher. At the age of 17, she played Sandy Williams, one of the starring roles alongsideKyle MacLachlan andIsabella Rossellini, in the critically successful mystery thriller filmBlue Velvet. It is widely regarded as Dern's breakthrough performance.[20][21]
In 1990, Dern once again collaborated with Lynch, and starred oppositeNicolas Cage in theblack comedy crime filmWild At Heart, in which Dern played a vastly different character from her previous role inBlue 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'.[22] The film, which had won thePalme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival, was met with generally positive reviews from critics, but polarized some audiences at the time.[16] Ladd appeared in a supporting role for the film.[23]
Dern playedEllie Sattler inSteven Spielberg's 1993 filmJurassic Park, achieving international recognition with the role.[29] Dern, who had been more focused on independent films prior to the film, was Spielberg's first choice for the role of Ellie, after having been impressed with her work inSmooth Talk andRambling Rose.[30] She was influenced by Cage to take the role,[31] and called the decision an "easy yes", recalling how Spielberg and producerKathleen Kennedy made sure the character was a "no-nonsense feminist who had her own independent spirit and was brilliant in her craft", and wasn't an "oversexualized action heroine" while describing filming to be similar to an independent film.[30][32]
That same year, Dern starred inClint Eastwood's filmA Perfect World. After the release ofJurassic Park, Dern was offered many roles in blockbuster films, but to avoidtypecasting ultimately chose to star inAlexander Payne's directorial debut black comedy filmCitizen Ruth. In the film, she played a pregnant drug addict who unexpectedly attracts national attention from those involved in theabortion debate. It debuted atSundance Film Festival to critical acclaim for the film and for Dern's performance, but only received a limited release fromMiramax, likely due to its controversial topic.[33][34][35] Ladd made a cameo appearance, playing her mother for the third time, followingRambling Rose andWild At Heart, with Dern's character screaming a torrent of abuse at her.
In 1997, Dern was asked byEllen DeGeneres to guest star as Susan Richmond, a lesbian who helps Degeneres' character, Ellen Morgan, come out of the closet in "The Puppy Episode" of the sitcomEllen, while DeGeneres herself came out at the same time offscreen. Despite protests from people around her, she shrugged off concerns and immediately accepted the role,[36] where she received her third Primetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series.[37] The decision significantly impacted her career in the following years with Dern revealing in an April 2007 airing ofThe Ellen DeGeneres Show that she did not work for more than a year and that she needed a "full security detail" following her appearance in the historic episode due to the resulting backlash at the time, but nevertheless called it an "extraordinary experience and opportunity" and "an incredible honor."[29][38] The following year, Dern co-starred in the television filmThe Baby Dance, for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. InJoe Johnston's biographical filmOctober Sky, Dern played the teacher who is involved about amateur rocketry, launched byNASA engineerHomer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal).
In 2000,Robert Altman cast Dern in his comedyDr. T & the Women. In 2001, Dern reprised her role as Ellie inJurassic Park III, which was directed by Johnston whom she had worked with inOctober 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 andJim Taylor who had previously collaborated with Dern forCitizen Ruth, to have the character play an important role by saving the other characters.[39] That same year, she co-starred inWithin These Walls andArthur Miller'sFocus. InBilly Bob Thornton's filmDaddy and Them, Dern played the wife of the husband. She starred in the filmI Am Sam as Randy Carpenter, a woman running a foster home. In 2002, she starred in the filmDamaged Care. In 2004, she starred in the filmWe Don't Live Here Anymore. Dern starred in the 2005 filmHappy Endings, and in the same year, she appeared in the filmThe Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.
In 2006, Dern reunited with director David Lynch for the third time afterBlue Velvet andWild At Heart in theexperimental filmInland Empire which was largely shot on a hand-heldSony DSR-PD150 by Lynch himself and without a complete screenplay.[40] Dern played an actress, Nikki Grace, who starts to take on the personality of the character she plays. The film debuted at theVenice 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.[41] Retrospectively, Dern's performance was named the 19th greatest movie performance of the 21st century byThe Ringer.[42] That same year, Dern had a supporting role inLonely Hearts. She starred inMike White's directorial debut filmYear of the Dog, alongsideMolly Shannon,John C. Reilly, andPeter Sarsgaard. In 2008, Dern starred as Florida Secretary of StateKatherine Harris inRecount, for which she won theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.[43] The following year, Dern appeared in the independent dramaTenderness,[44] and in 2010, she appeared inLittle Fockers, portraying Prudence, an elementary school principal.[45]
In November 2010, Dern and her parents Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern were presented with stars on theHollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first family to do so.[46] In October 2011, she starred in a new HBO comedy-drama television series titledEnlightened in which she also served as co-creator and executive producer.[47] 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 onYear of the Dog, back into television work after he had suffered an on-the-job meltdown of his own.[48] 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 theBest Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy category for her performance.[49] She was also nominated for her fifth Primetime Emmy Award, her first in theOutstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category.[50]
In 2022, Dern reprised her role as Dr. Ellie Sattler inJurassic World Dominion.[73] Due to the character's fan influence, Dern and directorColin Trevorrow felt protective of the character and her legacy, and were in agreement to have the character play a major role.[74] With Neill and Goldblum having led in their ownJurassic Park sequel, Trevorrow wantedDominion to be Dern's film explaining, "It was important for the plot to be driven by Ellie. She's the only one of those three characters that hasn't had her own movie."[75] She starred inFlorian Zeller's 2022 adaptation of his stage playThe Son.[76] Dern appeared in the music video forTaylor Swift's "Bejeweled" from her tenth studio albumMidnights (2022).[77] Dern reunited withWild author Cheryl Strayed and served along with Reese Witherspoon as executive producers for the 2023Hulu television seriesTiny Beautiful Things based on Strayed's book.[78] Dern served as an executive producer and starred in theApple TV+ period television seriesPalm Royale.[79]
Dern stars and serves as an executive producer for Justin Kurzel's science fiction filmMorning.[80] She stars in the Netflix filmLonely Planet.[81] She andAmy Adams signed on to executive produce aHBO adaptation ofClaire Lombardo'sThe Most Fun We Ever Had.[82]
Dern was in a relationship with herBlue Velvet co-starKyle MacLachlan from 1985 to 1989. She began datingJeff Goldblum in 1992 while filmingJurassic Park, and the relationship ended in 1997. Dern also datedBilly Bob Thornton from 1997 to 1999. They were engaged until she discovered he was datingAngelina Jolie. In autumn 2000, Dern began dating musicianBen Harper after they met at one of his concerts.[83] Harper and Dern married on December 23, 2005, at their home in Los Angeles.[84] They have two children together, son Ellery Walker (born August 21, 2001)[83] and daughter Jaya (born November 2004).[85] Through this marriage, Dern became stepmother to Harper's children from his first marriage.[83] The two finalized their divorce in 2013.[86]
During the66th Golden Globe Awards, on January 11, 2009, Dern expressed support for the incoming administration ofBarack 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!"[88]
Dern, Laura; Ladd, Diane (2023).Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding). Grand Central Publishing.ISBN978-1-538-72037-0.
^abHarrington, Richard (September 14, 2007)."The Essential Roger Corman".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. RetrievedMarch 12, 2016.Dern's real-life wife, Diane Ladd, playing the Loser's wife, became pregnant with daughter-actress Laura Dern during shooting.
^Diamond, Jamie (August 25, 1992)."A Lifetime of con men and killers".Toledo Blade. Archived fromthe original on February 26, 2022. RetrievedMarch 12, 2016.In 1967 I did a movie with Peter Fonda called The Trip... I had just had my daughter Laura
^Gelder, Lawrence Van (August 17, 1990)."At the Movies".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. RetrievedAugust 21, 2022.
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