Laura Dern is one of the most celebrated actresses of all time. Aside from uncredited roles in the early 70s, she began regularly acting in 1980, and she’s appeared in a wide-range of critically-acclaimed films and popular blockbusters, notably early hits like Blue Velvet in 1986 and Jurassic Park in 1993. While Laura has been a beloved star for decades, she actually has many family members who have been in the entertainment industry in various forms. Her parents, Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, both worked as actors, and she also has relatives who have been in politics, very successful businesspeople, and writers. All three actors have stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame close by each other.
Laura, who herself is a mother of two, has spoken about how happy she was that her parents were both entertainers in a 2014 interview with The Guardian. “My parents, Dianne Ladd and Bruce Dern, are so real; they’re so who they are. The 70s, when I was a child, was their time of great success. But there were no cameras following you through the market or paparazzi at your school,” she said. “They wanted to play complicated people and they didn’t care about anything else, like the glam stuff.”
Unfortunately, Diane died on November 3, 2025. Find out more about both of Laura’s parents here.
Laura’s dad was married once before he went out with Diane. Bruce was briefly wed to Marie Dawn Pierce from 1957 to 1959, before marrying Diane in 1960. The pair’s first daughter died at 18 months old. By the time Laura was born in 1967, he was an established actor, with roles in a variety of TV shows, like Stoney Burke, where he appeared in 17 episodes. He had also done some movie work, including in films like Wild River and Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte.
Since the 60s, Bruce has appeared in a wide array of movies where he’s been critically acclaimed, including 1974’s The Great Gatsby, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. His performances in 1978’s Coming Home and 2013’s Nebraska earned him both Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Bruce and Diana divorced in 1969 and remarried Andrea Beckett that same year!
Laura has opened up about getting closer with her dad as she’s gotten older. She revealed that when she was younger, she felt like her dad was a bit unsure as a parent in a 2013 interview with Marc Maron on the WTF podcast. “I think he kind of — as you could imagine — didn’t really know what to do with a small person,” she explained. She also joked about how a playdate’s dad confronted her over a character her dad played who killed John Wayne in a 2013 Vulture interview.
Awkward playdates aside, she did reveal what she learned from her dad in that interview. “To stay true to what’s right for you. Stay true to your own voice, and don’t worry about needing to be liked or what anybody else thinks. Keep your eyes on your own paper,” she said of what she picked up on as an actress.
