From Jurassic Park to Palm Royale: Every Laura Dern Performance Ranked and Where to Watch Them
Laura Dern is best known for her role as Ellie Sadler in the Steven Spielberg dinosaur epic, Jurassic Park. Yet, the American actress has had a varied career over the last almost four decades, starring in billion-dollar franchises as well as period classics. Read on to discover every Laura Dern movie and TV show and where to stream them.
Back in the early ‘80s, Dern began her acting career before making her breakout role in films such as Mask and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Before long, the actress was starring in revered independent and medium budget films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, which even earned the actress her first Academy Award nomination.
Yet, in 1993 Dern soared to new heights when she starred in Speilerg’s science fiction film, Jurassic Park alongside Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. The cult classic remains regarded as one of the greatest films of all time and has an impressive legacy considering its $63 million budget, as it went onto gross over $1 billion at the box office - which was almost unheard of in the ‘90s. It became the highest grossing film of all time, and held that title until 1997 when James Cameron released the romantic drama, Titanic.
The epic adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel of the same name, kick-started the franchise that has since spawned its own trilogy and the Jurassic World trilogy too. Dern reprised her role as Sadler in Jurassic World III, a less successful (grossing $368 million), but still nail-biting installment, and in 2022 in Jurassic World: Dominion. The long-awaited reunion and crossover between the two dino-loving teams grossed $1 billion at the box office, which was even more impressive after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The actress is also well known for her long-standing collaborations with Reese Witherspoon and her production company Hello Sunshine. After starring in the 2014 biopic Wild together, which earned Dern her second Academy Award nomination, the duo fronted the award-winning HBO series, Big Little Lies alongside Shailene Woodley.
Based on Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name, the comedy drama is one of Dern’s finest performances of her career. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for her performance as Renata Klein in the two-season show.
Since then, Dern has landed supporting roles in films such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, and starred in Greta Gerwig’s award-winning adaptation of Little Women. The actress returned to the small-screen in 2024 to star in the Apple TV original series, Palm Royale alongside Kristen Wiig.
With so many impressive performances to choose from, here’s every Laura Dern movie and TV show ranked and where to stream them.
