Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in the movie Rambling Rose. Her other movies include Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Blue Velvet, A Perfect World, Wild at Heart, October Sky, Mask, and We Don't Live Here Anymore, for which she received the award for Best Supporting Actress from the Boston Society of Film Critics.Dern is the daughter of Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd and the great-granddaughter to former Utah governor George H. Dern. Laura Dern's film debut was in fact a cameo in her mother's film White Lightning; also making a brief appearance in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, one of Ladd's signature roles. Her mother objected the the 13-year-old Dern's prescence on the set of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, but a defiant Dern sued for emancipation.
In the mid-1980s she gained critical acclaim for roles in films by Peter Bogdanovich (Mask) and David Lynch (Blue Velvet , Wild At Heart). Dern's starring role in Blue Velvet appeared to be a breakthrough but it was four years until her next notable film, Wild At Heart, another Lynch film. Dern's affiliation with Lynch has continued throughout her career, with her most recent role in INLAND EMPIRE.
In 1992, Dern and her mother became the first and only mother and daughter ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in the same film in Rambling Rose. They, however, did not play a mother and daughter in the film.
In 1993 Dern played Dr. Ellie Sattler in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster hit, Jurrasic Park. The same year Clint Eastwood enlisted Dern for his film A Perfect World.
Dern also starred as Ruth in the 1996 satire Citizen Ruth, the directorial debut of Alexander Payne. In a reversal of roles, Dern's mother makes a cameo appearance, with Dern's character screaming a torrent of abuse at her. The film became an indie sensation with Dern's hilarious portrayal of drug addict Ruth Stoops receiving praise.
In 1998 Dern and Stockard Channing co-starred in the moving Showtime film The Baby Dance. The touching film, produced by Jodie Foster, followed two couples from different backgrounds through a difficult adoption. Dern was moving as a poor woman from Louisiana giving her child up.
In 1999 Dern was dating Billy Bob Thornton and he selected her as his love interest in his directorial debut Daddy and Them. The film is about a dysfunctional Arkansas family which includes (again) Diane Ladd, Andy Griffith and Jim Varney in his final film performance. Dern also appeared in Joe Johnston's film October Sky opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Cooper.
Robert Altman called upon Dern's talents to play a champagne loving Aunt in his Texas based comedy Dr. T & the Women in 2000. The film also starred Richard Gere, Helen Hunt and Kate Hudson.
2001 was a busy year for Dern as she took on five films. The first was a TV movie with Ellen Burstyn called Within These Walls. Dern played a nun who taught female inmates to train dogs for special needs people. The film was based on a true story. Dern also co-starred with William H. Macy in Focus based on Arthur Miller's novel. Next Dern starred with Steve Martin in Helena Bonham Carter in the dark comedy Novocaine . She also made a cameo appearance in Jurassic Park III. The film I Am Sam with Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer also featured Dern in a supporting role.
The 2002 Showtime film Damaged Care starred Dern as real life woman Linda Peeno who was famous for testifying before Congress against HMO's after working for them in the 80's. An interesting side-note is that the real Linda Peeno made an appearance in Michael Moore's documentay SiCKO.
The 2004 film We Don't Live Here Anymore gave Dern some of the best reviews of her career, as she portrayed a woman in a troubled marriage opposite Mark Ruffalo.
Dern was part of the ensemble drama/comedy Happy Endings in 2005. The film directed by Don Roos follows a loosely connected group of L.A. residents through their life trials. The film also starred Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Steve Coogan. That year Dern also appeared in the film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio with Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson.
When David Lynch and Dern reunited in 2006 for INLAND EMPIRE the critical praise for Dern's lead role was overwhelming. Many journalists even believed that she deserved the best actress award for that film. Also in 2006, Dern had a supporting role in the film Lonely Hearts. The film was about the famed Lonely Hearts Killers and starred Salma Hayek, John Travolta and Jared Leto.
Mike White, known for writing such films as School of Rock and The Good Girl, hired Dern for his directorial debut. The film, released in 2007, was a comedy titled Year of the Dog starring Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard. Later this year Dern will star opposite Russell Crowe in the independent drama Tenderness.
Dern also stated that she would reprise her role as Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park IV.
In 1997, Dern was featured in Widespread Panic's music video for their song, "Aunt Avis", which was directed by Dern's then boyfriend and at one time fiancé, Billy Bob Thornton.
Dern has also done much work on television, most notably Afterburn, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie. She has also guest-starred on The West Wing, as a voice on King of the Hill, and as a lesbian who coaxes Ellen DeGeneres out of the closet in the famous "Puppy Episode" of the television series Ellen. On the April 24, 2007 airing of DeGeneres' talk show, Dern revealed that she did not work for more than a year following her appearance on that episode because of resulting backlash, but nevertheless called her work on the episode an "extraordinary experience and opportunity"
Dern had high-profile romances with Kyle MacLachlan, Renny Harlin, Jeff Goldblum and Billy Bob Thornton, who ended their relationship abruptly by marrying Angelina Jolie.
Dern married musician Ben Harper on December 23, 2005 after dating for five years. They have two children: son Ellery Walker and daughter Jaya.
