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| Birth Name(s) : Laura Elizabeth Dern |
Date of Birth: February 10, 1967 |
| Status:
N/A
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| Profession:
Actor |
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Full Laura Dern Biography
This willowy blonde has managed thus far to avoid typecasting in wide-eyed, virginal ingenue parts, although she's clearly suited to such roles and has played them skillfully in the past. The daughter of actor Bruce Dern and actress Diane Ladd, she appeared with mom in White Lightning (1973) and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) before making her official screen debut in Adrian Lyne's Foxes (1980). Her turn as a blind camper who befriends freakish Eric Stoltz in Mask (1985) was all innocence and vulnerability, and her leading performance as a confused, coltish girl at the point of womanhood in Smooth Talk (1985) demonstrated her versatility.
As if to emphasize the point, Dern appeared as a girl-next-door type in David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986), and played an extremely uninhibited white-trash character in the same director's Wild at Heart (1990). She portrayed Claire Clairmont in Haunted Summer (1988), and costarred in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989). In 1991 Dern enchanted audiences with her most mature, accomplished performance to date, playing a love-starved, promiscuous but gentle orphan in Rambling Rose (1991). By this time, her mom was supporting her on screen; they became the first mother and daughter to earn simultaneous Oscar nominations. Dern was excellent in the 1992 cable-TV movie Afterburn She then costarred in two high-profile 1993 films: Jurassic Park and A Perfect World. |
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Additional Laura Dern Biography
Laura Elizabeth Dern-Harper (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 to the 13-year-old Dern's presence on the set of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, but a defiant Dern sued for emancipation.
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, Jurassic 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 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.
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 is also known as an outspoken activist and supporter of many charitable causes, such as The Children's Health Environmental Coalition, which aims to raise awareness about toxic substances that can affect a child's health.
She has been acknowledged with several awards from the independent film industry including the Sundance Institute and was the subject of an aggressive media campaign by David Lynch to win her an Academy Award nomination for her work in INLAND EMPIRE. |
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Laura Dern Quote(s)
| It's really fun to act like a bimbo. But it's fun to act like a bimbo only when people know that you really aren't one. |
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