It’s safe to say that Laura Dern was destined to be a star. Born to actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, she was bitten by the Hollywood bug when she was young: “At the ripe age of seven I knew I wanted to be an actress,” she has said. “I was watching [my parents work with] Hitchcock and Scorsese…of course I wanted to be an actor.” Sure enough, Dern made appearances alongside her famous mother in the films White Lightening and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore before she was even 10 years old.
However, it wasn’t until she met writer-director David Lynch at the age of 17 that her career really became her own. Between 1986 and 1990, she starred in two of the legendary auteur’s landmark films: Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart. “I don’t know what he saw, but I’m so grateful that he trusted me,” she has said of working with Lynch on those early films.
Undoubtedly, Lynch saw what so many of us have seen as we’ve followed her career over the four decades since: a seemingly effortless ability to blend intellect, authenticity, and fearlessness into a range of characters. From her breakout role as Dr. Ellie Sattler in 1993’s Jurassic Park to her 1997 appearance in the groundbreaking coming-out episode of Ellen and her more recent turns in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Twin Peaks, Palm Royale, and Marriage Story, Dern has shown a knack for depicting individuals who are complex, unconventional, and unforgettable. As Reese Witherspoon, Dern’s co-star in the HBO series Big Little Lies, put it: “Her ability to create characters who have both humor and deep emotional impact is unparalleled.” It’s no wonder Dern has won five Golden Globes, an Oscar, and an Emmy.
Though she’s no stranger to a well-cut blazer or a power suit, Dern’s personal style has long transcended trends—and she’s never been afraid to take a playful risk with a dramatic silhouette or bold color now and then. “If we could all figure out a way to just be true to ourselves and have a good time doing what we’re doing, it would be a lot more fun,” she’s said. Here, a look at photos of a young Laura Dern doing just that.
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1981
Dern in a silk button-up and wool coat with her mother, actress Diana Ladd, in 1981.
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1982
In 1982, a 15-year-old Dern served as Miss Golden Globe—a now retired Golden Globes tradition that introduced newbie stars (often the children of well-known actors) to Hollywood.
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1985
In 1985, Dern wore a velvet jacket to attend a gala with actor Treat Williams, her co-star in the romantic thriller Smooth Talk.
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1986
17-year-old Dern on the set of Blue Velvet, written and directed by David Lynch.
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1988
Dern’s penchant for a smartly cut skirt suit started early. At the opening of The Palace of Amateurs in New York City, she wore a leather skirt and boxy blazer with coordinating trim.
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1988
Dern with Kyle MacLachlan, her co-star in the 1986 film Blue Velvet. The two dated from 1985 to 1989 after meeting on set.
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1989
Dern during the filming of the David Lynch’s romantic crime comedy thriller Wild at Heart.
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1989
Dern with co-star Nicolas Cage on the set of the David Lynch film Wild at Heart.
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1990
Dern was an early adopter of wearing a bra as a top. She wore a polka-dotted version beneath a blazer to the premiere of Flatliners in Hollywood, as well as to the Venice Film Festival that same year.
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1990
To the premiere of Total Recall in Los Angeles, Dern wore a crimson blazer with leg-of-mutton sleeves.
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1990
Dern with director David Lynch.
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1990
Dern channeled her Wild at Heart character in a quilted skirt suit for the film’s premiere in Los Angeles.
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1991
Dern in a scene from the film Rambling Rose, in which she co-starred with her mother, Dianna Ladd. She and Ladd were later nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, making them the first mother-daughter duo to ever be nominated for the same film.
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1991
Dern wore a turtleneck and a plaid-trimmed suit set to attend a premiere with her father, actor Bruce Dern.
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1993
A still from the 1993 film Jurassic Park, in which Dern played the paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler—a role that garnered her international mainstream success.
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1993
Dern wore a crisp ivory suit to attend the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica with her Jurassic Park co-star—and then boyfriend—Jeff Goldblum.
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1993
Dern at a screening of A Perfect World in Los Angeles.
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1995
In 1995, Dern wore a black slip dress to attend the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Awards with actor Sam Neill.
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1997
With her then fiancé, actor Billy Bob Thornton, at a screening of The Apostle in New York City. The two were together until 1999.
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1997
In 1997, Dern guest-starred as Susan in the ground-breaking “Puppy” episode of Ellen, in which Ellen Degeneres’s character comes out as gay. A decade later, Dern confided that though she couldn’t get work for a year and a half after the episode aired, it was an “extraordinary experience.”
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1997
Dern wore a shimmering gold suit to a benefit gala for AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1997.
