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For more than 35 years, the Oscar-nominated actress has blazed a singular path in Hollywood.
Laura Dern’s Life in Pictures
Before she was born, she was in the movies.
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She met Martin Scorsese and Alfred Hitchcock when she was just a kid.
(Or: They met her.)
She has been a professional actress since she was old enough to pretend to be a teenager.
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AsBig Little Lieswinds down, the 50-year-old is working more than ever.
Coming soon areTwin PeaksandStar Wars: The Last Jedi, two projects she can’t talk about.
But she told us about everything else.
“So it’s really beautiful to see them.
My son looks exactly like my dad.
My mom is beautiful, and by the way, looks just like Jennifer Lawrence.”
The couple costarred in Roger Corman’s 1966 biker-gang movie,The Wild Angels.
“I’m particularly fond of that movie, because I was conceived on that movie!”
she says, laughing.
“Roger Corman has made many careers.
He literally made me.”
“Scorsese, luckily for me, let me be an extra,” Dern says.
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“He had the prop master give me an ice cream.
They had to do 19 takes of the climax, so I ate 19 ice creams.”
Her diligence was noted.
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“I remember [Scorsese] patting my shoulder and going: ‘You see this kid right here?
Now this girl’s an actress!'”
“I lied about my age, because I learned that from my parents!”
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“In this shot, we are at a really inappropriate party talking about birth control.”
Producer David Puttnam and director Adrian Lyne had to explain the dialogue to her.
“It started with ‘You’re aware of what a diaphragm is, right?’
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I’m like, ‘Of course!
You know, when you breathe?'”
“For me, this was eighth grade,” Dern says nonchalantly.
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I would come back with the decision to never do drugs my entire life."
Blue Velvet, 1986
“I gave up college forBlue Velvet,” Dern says.
“Thank God it wasBlue Velvet!”
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It marked the beginning of Dern’s ongoing creative partnership with Lynch.
“He is this radical inventor like no other, this Renaissance man.
And within that, he’s the sweetest, most regular guy.”
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“I loved her so much.
We had this period of time when we were inseparable.
I was not skilled at how to be a friend and keep up with everybody.
Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/HBO
It was pre-cell phones, pre-texting and I’m horrible at all that, too!
What’s an email for Julia so I can send her this picture?”
Wild at Heart,1990
“Look at those two!
How much fun are they having?”
In her second Lynchcollaboration, Dern and Nicolas Cage played young lovers gone supernova.
“It was clear we should, in every frame, never have our hands off each other.
Clearly, with my hand placement, you see that we’re committed to fully being those characters.”
The result was a radical shift for young Dern.
“Before this movie, I was the girl next door.
After this movie, I was a sex siren.”
Jurassic Park, 1993
“This is making me laugh so hard,” Dern says.
“Right afterthe moviecame out, we had a Halloween party.
“I’ve never fallen in love with a character more.”
I gotta pitch that to Reese!”
Ellen, “The Puppy Episode,” 1997
“Susan, I’m gay.”
“Susan” was Dern, guest-starring as the lesbian news producer who helps Ellen come out.
“[Ellen’s] bravery changed lives.
It was a very emotional moment for her.
I don’t know where to put it.
Am I actually going to make a difference?'”
Dern says with a laugh.
“I’ve worked with the greatest directors ever,” Dern says.
“I’m the luckiest actress alive!”
