Profile of the Day: Laura Dern

Posted February 10, 2023 by Amanda | No Comment

Happy birthday to Laura Dern! Today the actress turns 56.

Image: Laura Dern / Georges Biard, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Dern was born on February 10, 1967 in Los Angeles, California to actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd. Her great grandfather, George Dern, served as the 6th Governor of Utah and later, as the United States Secretary of War.

Born into a Hollywood family, it was no surprise that Dern would also follow in her parents footsteps. She landed her first role at the age of 11 in the film Foxes and got her big break 8 years later in Blue Velvet, which marked the beginning of her longstanding collaboration with director David Lynch.

In 1991, she starred in the film Rambling Rose alongside her mother. Their performances earned Dern her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and her mother a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. It marked the first time in Oscar history that a mother and daughter were nominated in the same year and for the same film. In 2020, just a day before her 53rd birthday, Dern finally won her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Marriage Story.

What’s your favorite role?

Explore Laura Dern’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the star.