Laura Dern

Laura Dern: biography

Over the years, the talent of the American actress Laura Dern bloomed, surprising with new, unexpected facets. Laura started with the roles of simpletons, but in a decade turned into a sexy femme fatale. The muse of David Lynch is more than 50 years old, but she is still a famous actress.

Childhood and youth

Laura Elizabeth Dern belongs to the famous American elite. The future actress was born on February 10, 1967, in Los Angeles, in the family of successful actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern. The couple starred in the movie "The Wild Angels" and was nominated for Oscar.

The biography of her ancestors and relatives is no less brilliant. Her grandfather, George Dern, served as a Governor of Utah for eight years. In 1930 he was promoted to the US Secretary of Defense. Laura’s grandmother, George's wife, was a famous actress Mary Lanier. Also, Laura is the niece of the poet and the head of the Library of Congress, Archibald MacLeish. Her uncle is a writer Tennessee Williams.

When Laura was two years old, her parents divorced. The girl was brought up by my mother and grandmother. At the age of seven, she spent two summer holidays on the sets of two films by the legendary filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese. Her father starred in the movie “Family Plot,” and her mother appeared in “Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.” In an interview, Laura admits that at that time she wanted to devote her life to cinema. The actors were free in improvisations and also participated in filmmaking.

"Perhaps if I came to the set to less outstanding directors, my life would have been different," she says.

At the age of 9, the girl declared her desire to become an actress and found support from her mother, who warned that she would have to work hard and forget about weekends for the next two years.

Her hobbies, riding and ballet were replaced by acting courses and auditions. After graduation, Laura Dern studied at the University of Southern California, but studied there only one semester and left the university. She entered The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles.

Films

Laura debuted in the film "White Lightning." But the second film was more memorable, where she starred during her summer vacation. The actress appeared in the movie "Alice does not live here anymore." She starred in a small episode in which she ate ice cream in the kiss scene of the main characters played by Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson. There were 20 takes and19 ice creams. Martin Scorsese joked about such stamina, calling Laura a born actress. And the girl fell in love with Kris - she was admiring her idol and did not even notice that it was too much ice cream.

But the actress does not consider little episodes her debut in the movie. She played her first big role in the drama by Adrian Lyne "Foxes." At the age of 11, Lara's height was already 1.75 m, and she got a significant and adult role. At 16, entered the cast of the film "Mask" by Peter Bogdanovich, for which the actress received the first recognition - the Film Critics Association Award.

In the mid-1980s, Laura Dern became the muse of David Lynch and got incredible popularity. She starred in the film "Blue Velvet", which was called the best thriller and detective of all time. In 1990, Laura again played in the film by Lynch along with her mother. For the drama “Wild At Heart” the director received the Palme d'Or, and Diane Ladd was nominated for Oscar. Laura was nominated for the first time at the main award of the American film industry for the role of a young nymphomaniac in the film "Rambling Rose."

The last decade of the twentieth century was successful for Laura Dern. There were roles in the films by eminent directors and brought the actress long-awaited awards. For the movie "The Fast And The Furious" by Robert Markowitz she was awarded the "Golden Globe " and for the role in "Citizen Ruth" by Alexander Payne, the woman won the International Film Festival in Montreal. She also starred in the Oscar-winning “Jurassic Park” by Steven Spielberg and the film "A Perfect World" by Clint Eastwood.

In the new millennium, there was a creative crisis. The actress starred mostly in episodic roles. In 2006, there was another breakthrough in the acting biography. The film by David Lynch "Inland Empire" was released. The director admitted that this film is symbolic for him: he acted as a director, scriptwriter, cameraman, editor and even a producer. The film was shot on a digital camera for the first time. Lynch is sure that Laura played a significant role in "Empire." Dern simultaneously played the roles of the actress, housewife, and prostitute. By the way, the title of the film was given by Laura. Critics predicted Oscar nomination, but the film was never included in the list of contenders for the award. However, it was awarded "Future Film Festival Digital Award" at the Venice festival.

Then there were a lot of successful films with the participation of the actress: "Tenderness" with Russell Crowe, "Recount" with Kevin Spacey (for the role in this film Laura was awarded the second "Golden Globe"), and “Little Fockers" with Robert De Niro. And the role in the series "Enlightened" brought her the third "Golden Globe."

In 2014, Dern starred in the films "The Fault in Our Stars" and "Wild," which made a strong impression on the audience. In both films, Laura plays mothers with deep character. For the role in the movie "Wild," she was nominated for Oscar.

Personal life

Now Laura lives alone, bringing up her son Ellery Walker and a daughter Jaya. The children were born in a single marriage with the musician Ben Harper. The couple got married in 2005, but eight years they broke up.

Although the actress was married only once, she had a lot of relationships. She was dating the actor Kyle MacLachlan, whom she met on the set of the film "Blue Velvet." The actress also had a serious relationship with the director Renny Harlin and with Nicolas Cage, her partner in the film "Wild At Heart." In 1993, Laura met Jeff Goldblum on the set of the film "Jurassic Park." The couple was even engaged.

There was a heartbreaking relationship with Billy Bob Thornton. Laura learned from the newspapers that the man married Angelina Jolie.

Laura Dern nowadays

Laura Dern always appears at star parties. In January, the actress appeared with her daughter at the festival in Palm Springs.

At the beginning of autumn, Dern got the Emmy-2017 Award for "Best Supporting Actress in a miniseries or a television film," for starring in “Big Little Lies.”

In May, there was a premiere of the miniseries “Twin Peaks” (the continuation of the legendary television movie), where Dern appeared as an imaginary secretary of Agent Cooper. And soon the audience will see Laura in the continuation of the cult saga "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," which will be released in December.

Now the actress works in "Trial by Fire" by Ed Zwick. Laura will play along with Jack O'Connell. The plot is based on the story of the murder of three young children, which took place in Texas in 1991.

Filmography

• 1974 - "Alice does not live here anymore"
• 1980 - "Foxes"
• 1985 - "Mask"
• 1986 - "Blue Velvet"
• 1990 - "Wild at heart"
• 1991 - "Rambling Rose"
• 1992 – “The Fast And The Furious”
• 1993 - "Jurassic Park"
• 1993 - "A Perfect World"
• 1996 - "Citizen Ruth"
• 1999 – “October Sky”
• 2001 - "Jurassic Park-3"
• 2006 - "Inland Empire"
• 2008 - "Recount"
• 2010 - "Little Fockers"
• 2011 - "Enlightened"
• 2014 - "The Fault in Our Stars"
• 2014 - "Wild"
• 2017 - "Big little lies"
• 2017 – “Twin Peaks”

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