Laura Dern was born on 10 February 1967. She had celebrity parents: Bruce Dern as her father and Diane Ladd as her mother. Her father Bruce had earned fame for his roles of psychotics, sociopaths and criminals. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the Best Supporting Actor in the movie Coming Home (1978). Laura was exposed into the world of movies quite early. She experienced her first success with Foxes (1980). She made a series of small appearances with Ladies and Gentleman, the Fabulous Stains (1981) and Teachers (1984), Mask (1985) and Smooth Talk (1985). She made to the leading role with David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild at Heart (1990). Laura earned Oscar nomination for her excellent performance in Rambling Rose (1991). She was co-starring her mother Diane Ladd. Surprisingly, Diane also won Oscar nomination for the same movie. Read on to find out more about their lives and career.
Laura Dern and Diane Ladd
Laura continued to earn prominent roles in movies like October Sky (1999), I am Sam (2001), We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004), Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic Park III (2001). Diane was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the three movies Wild at Heart (1990), Rambling Rose (1991) and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). It is a fact to be noted that all these three movies starred her daughter Laura Dern. Laura Dern spent her childhood hanging out on movie sets-her mom, actress Diane Ladd, had roles in classics such as Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Chinatown-so it's not surprising she grew up to become an actress. She is also a mother-of-two and married to musician Ben Harper.
On the face of it, her acting aspiration hardly comes as a surprise. She has, after all, the likes of her parents Ladd and Bruce Dern, both onetime Oscar nominees (she for her role as the wisecracking Flo in Alice; he as the shell-shocked Vietnam vet in Coming Home). Laura did a lot of her growing up around movie sets, occasionally picking up bit parts. Ladd and Bruce Dern were married after they appeared together, in 1960, in an off-Broadway play. They went West soon after to pursue Hollywood careers, but in 1962 their first daughter, only 2 years old, drowned in the backyard pool. This Traumatizingevent found their marriage deteriorating into a series of splits and reconciliations. At Laura Elizabeth's birth in 1967, her father called her "the little miracle" a last chance at holding the family together. However, it all that was in vain, as they got divorced when Laura was 2 years old.
Diane Ladd, Laura Dern and Bruce Dern got a constellation's worth of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010, marking the first time three family members received stars side by side on Hollywood Boulevard. Even though Ben Harper and Laura Dern filed for divorce on October 8, 2010, they were spotted together at the Golden Globes 2012 sparking rumors of reconciliation. She has still maintained a warm relationship with her parents even after actress Laura Dern has gone off on her own. Laura visits both often and notes in particular that her Dad has an easier time with her now that she is all grown up than he did when she was a little girl. She says that sometimes she forgetsshe is not 18, and it's interesting because she hasn't figured herself out. Butshe adds with a hint of a smileshe is beginning to know who she is-maybe.
This mother-daughter duo has drawn inspiration from each other during times of trial and hasshown immense support as a family. This mother's day, show your mother how much you care and love her by making the day special for her.
Read to learn more about the famous actress mother-daughter duo, Laura Dern and Diane Ladd.