The Enduring Allure of Laura Dern

Laura Dern has been something of a fixture on film over the last 30 some-odd years; whether running from dinosaurs or stuck in the middle of an abortion debate, she’s played a plethora of roles in a number of iconic movies, and lent her talents to television as well. The daughter of two showbiz vets, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, Dern might have been destined for greatness – but it was her unique talent and charisma that cemented her as one of the most reliably wonderful actors in Hollywood. Dern’s breakthrough role in 1985 drama Mask as a blind girl who falls for a boy with physical deformities was the first in a series of performances that would see her begin collaborations with the industry’s top directors.

Dern was just a teenager when she starred as wholesome Sandy in David Lynch‘s Blue Velvet, and her performance as a scared, sexually curious girl trying to help solve a murder earned her a spot among frequent Lynch collaborators – she would later star in Wild at Heart and Industrial Symphony No. 1 opposite Nicolas Cage, in 2006 mystery film Inland Empire, and she’s also set to star in the Twin Peaks reboot airing this spring. This actor-director pairing has worked well for the both of them; Dern’s roles began with a naive good girl and progressed to a woman in trouble, and the role she plays on Twin Peaks is sure to contribute positively to the Dern/Lynch legacy.

Though Blue Velvet certainly put her on the map, it was her role as a promiscuous young woman turned housemaid in Rambling Rose that earned Dern her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination. Only 24 at the time, Dern became one of the youngest actresses to be nominated for the Oscar. She proved that she could be an asset in even the most off-beat in films, with her next handful of roles, she truly became a Hollywood fixture. Perhaps the role she’s best known for, Dern’s turn as Dr. Ellie Sattler in Steven Spielberg‘s epic dinosaur flick Jurassic Park made her a household name. Again, at 25, she was one of the youngest members of the adult cast – and managed to hold her own opposite forces like Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, flawlessly delivering feminist one-liners in the process.

Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) also took note of Dern’s unique talents, as he cast her as the lead in his 1996 film debut, Citizen Ruth.The dark comedy starred Dern as an irresponsible, drug-using pregnant woman who somehow finds her way into the middle of a massive abortion debate. The film, praised for its unprecedented courage in representing both sides of the argument, put a messy, crass side of Dern on display that hadn’t yet been explored on screen – and later paved the way for her HBO series Enlightened, on which she played an idealistic buyer who suffers a nervous breakdown at work. Dern’s work on the show earned her a Golden Globe in 2012 (her third), and while the series was certainly short lived, it was something of a critical darling.

The most recent period of Dern’s career has seen her continue to act in a wide range of films; she starred in a supporting role in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master, as youth cancer patient Shailene Woodley‘s mother in The Fault in Our Stars, and as Reese Witherspoon‘s dying mother in Wild, for which she received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. While some of her recent work may not have gotten the audiences they deserved – 99 Homes and The Founder, to name a couple – she has still consistently chosen stand-out, quality projects that allow her to play a variety of roles.

Dern’s return to HBO with Big Little Lies may be some of her best work in years; as Renata Klein, a no-bullshit, career driven mother, she seemingly runs the entire community and delivers quality verbal tennis matches opposite Witherspoon. While the show certainly sets up audiences to root for Witherspoon, Woodley, and Nicole Kidman against Dern, Dern’s character is perhaps the most sensible of the lot – and the rare quiet moments of vulnerability we are able to witness from her showcase some of Dern’s greatest skills.

Dern’s lasting star quality and ability to deliver untouched sincerity in every role she plays are exactly why we see her work on such a consistent basis. 2017 will see something of a Laura Dern renaissance; with Big Little Lies, Twin Peaks, and Star Wars, among other indie flicks ahead, Dern isn’t disappearing anytime soon. The actress continues to defy expectations about aging in Hollywood and is keeping busier than ever – and we couldn’t be happier about it.