Ten fun facts about Laura Dern

Fact 1
Both of Laura’s parents, father Bruce Dern and mother Diane Ladd, were successful actors. Initially, they both had discouraged her from acting in films, but eventually gave in.

Fact 2
Her cameo appearance in the 1973 Diane Ladd starrer, “White Lightening” was her film debut.

Fact 3
She received the Miss Golden Globe award in 1982. She was the youngest winner of this award, ever.

Fact 4
Laura was very awkward in social settings. She was a gawky, 5' 10" reed-thin, teenager. Her slouching posture and large feet made her a point of ridicule in high school and she found some solace in studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Fact 5
At age 13, Laura bagged a role in the 1981 film, “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains”. Her mother felt that she was too young to go off for a big movie shoot. The precocious teenager sued her mother on emancipation grounds and won. However, the movie did not do too well.

Fact 6
Dern has acted in 2 films that were titled “Happy Endings”. One was a 1983-made television film while the other was a 2005-made independent one.

Fact 7
In 1993, both Laura and her mother Diane, starred in different dinosaur-themed films. The former acted in “Jurassic Park” the box-office hit while the latter starred in “Carnasaur’ which turned out to be a major flop.

Fact 8
Laura and Diane played reel-life daughter-mother roles in 5 movies: 1996-“Citizen Ruth”, 2001-“Daddy and Them”, 1991- Rambling Rose”, 1990- Wild at Heart and 1973- “White Lightening”.

Fact 9
Both Laura and mother Diane received Oscar nominations for the 1991 film, “Rambling Rose”. This was the first time ever, that a mother and daughter had been nominated for the same film.

Fact 10
Laura avidly supports many charities. The “Healthy Child Healthy World” is one of her favorites. It aims at raising awareness about how toxic substances can affect the health of children.