The 15 Best Laura Dern Roles, Ranked

From her many David Lynch films to iconic TV performances, Laura Dern has long been an icon.

It ’s not facetious to say that Laura Dern is one of our greatest support actors — it ’s just the accuracy . Over a career sweep ten , Dern has single - handedly give us some of the good war cry faces that have ever been see on the silver projection screen , but beyond the absolutely incredible ways she can wring her expression , she dwell her fiber with unparalleled poise . From her teenaged naivete in Joyce Chopra’sSmooth Talk , one of her first character , Dern has always demonstrate a maturity beyond her age . And as such , she ’s done consistently awing workplace , playing blustery lawyers , David Lynch ’s muse , and ferociously caring mothers . To honor the beloved actor — and because we did n’t have the budget for avery large road sign and a cowor theGay Men ’s Chorus of Los Angeles — we attempted to place her expert workplace . We ca n’t expect to see which of Dern ’s future roles we ’ll add .

15.The Last Jedi(2017)

You could in all likelihood count the minutes of actual screen sentence that Laura Dern has as the Resistance fleet ’s royal - haired Vice - Admiral Amilyn Holdo inStar war : The Last Jedion one paw , which makes her ability to overtop every fit she ’s in even more telling . It help that Dern ’s iconic statuesque height was clothe in covetable , flowy fabrics every time she made an appearance , try her good to handle some touchstone of control over a flailing and broken USA . Though she was n’t in the moving-picture show for long , she was subservient in ensuring the Resistance ’s eventual triumph , saving an entire fleet by pip out the eponymous Holdo Maneuver : ramming an foe starship at lightspeed in one of the most stunning successiveness in an already sensational pic . In a Galax urceolata run by disorder and uncertainty , Holdo was the good Guy ' only hope . — Emma Stefansky

14.Marriage Story(2019)

Dern at long last won an Oscar for stomping around in tycoon suits and heels as the fab divorce attorney Scarlett Johansson ’s Nicole hires in Noah Baumbach’sMarriage Story . As Nora , Dern will be your good friend — curling up on a couch and handing you tissues — or your expectant adversary , utterly dominating you in court of justice . It ’s not all unlike her body of work inBig Little Lies , but it is entrancing and destined to be memed . " We do n’t accept it structurally and we do n’t go for it spiritually , " she says of society ’s reaction to women who err . We sure do n’t when it occur to unfavorable judgment of you , Laura . — Esther Zuckerman

13.Blue Velvet(1986)

A Laura Dern and David Lynch teamup is reasonably much always going to attain something incredible , but let ’s present it : Dern is n’t the hombre ’s principal muse . Kyle MacLachlan is . As such , inBlue Velvet , Lynch post his floppy - haired college student Jeffrey on a life-threatening and voyeuristic joyride through the underbody of his small hometown after stumbling across a cut off capitulum , and Dern ’s high schoolhouse elderly Sandy , overhearing her police detective father ’s phone calls from her bedroom , gently abets his obsession over the closed book of where it come from . With her feathered boot , voiced side , and demure voice , Dern is a model little girl - next - doorway original , a beacon of innocence scream Jeffrey back from the iniquity . Even though Sandy is a all-inclusive - eyed duck soup , it ’s whatBlue Velvetasked for and Dern obliged , delivering the frowniest cry ever seen . — Leanne Butkovic

12.Rambling Rose(1991)

Dern realise her first Oscar nomination for a picture show that could n’t weather the hyperreactive culture wars of today . Rambling Rosepairs particularly well withSmooth talking , both of which feature a edacious Dern exploring a gender better described as sweaty and unfettered . In the former , she ’s a post - adolescent housekeeper in Depression - era Georgia who ca n’t contain the carnal fixing she develops for her much previous employer ( Robert Duvall ) . Dern and Diane Ladd — playing Duvall ’s forgetful married woman — were the first mother - girl duet ever appoint for Oscars in the same year , and deservedly so : Dern ingrain the titular Rose with an fanatical naiveté that refine the character ’s nymphomaniac - like tendencies , making this a luscious report in contradiction in terms . — Matthew Jacobs

11.Little Women(2019)

Oh , to be one of Dern ’s little cleaning woman ! As the Marmee to the rambunctious and brilliant March girls — Jo ( Saoirse Ronan ) , Meg ( Emma Watson ) , Amy ( Florence Pugh ) , and Beth ( Eliza Scanlen)—inGreta Gerwig ’s version of Louisa May Alcott ’s English lit - gist novel , Dern contain a backseat to the daughter ' troubles and ambitions , but her warmness drape over her scenes like a hand - knit afghan . Marmee is the pillar keeping the March family unit in order , kindly demanding routine of charity from her children and offering soulfulness - baring words of support when Jo needs it , but in her rarified moments alone , Dern ’s tender smile fades , replaced by the mien of a cleaning lady whose emotion are being hold together with string and tape for the sake of her house . — LB

10.Wild(2014)

Before theBig Little Liescompany was get together , Wildfirst give the collaborative relationship between Reese Witherspoon , film maker Jean - Marc Vallée , and Dern . An adaptation of Cheryl Strayed ’s memoir of the same name , Witherspoon portrays the writer on her poorly - prepared , physically trying backpacking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail . She ’s compelled to seek the boost because of the insurmountable grief she feels after the death of her mother Bobbi , played by Dern in flashbacks . There ’s no questioning Dern ’s maternal warmth , but it ’s the profundity she brings to Bobbi as a survivor of abuse who maintains there ’s sunniness in the world . Her Oscar - nominated performance is an expressive light amidWild ’s big drama , assist to captivate Strayed ’s desire to be the somebody her mother believed her to be — but above all , shereallymakes you desire to give your sleep together I a call . — Sadie Bell

9.Inland Empire(2006)

What makesInland Empireso impressive is not so much of what it ’s " about"—A womanhood entrance up in a obstinate mystery ? Hollywood itself ? Transcendental meditation?—but the skill of the crew showing up to set every daylight and much winging it , succumb to the caprice of David Lynch ’s 3 am epiphanies , to result in a film that ’s even semi - coherent . Though she admitted to her own confusion—“The Sojourner Truth is I did n’t have a go at it who I was act as — and I still do n’t get it on , " she said atInland Empire ’s Venice Film Festival premiere — Dern gamely weather The Process like the consummate professional she is , turning in an enthralling performance as actress Nikki Grace , using her face as a canvas to shapeshift through the hallucinatory three - hour runtime . After putting all of her trust into Lynch , it ’s no curiosity the filmmaker camp down out on Hollywood Boulevard with huge banners and a cow to necessitate the Academy think Dern for the Oscar backwash . — pound

8.Big Little Lies(2017–2019)

From the head start ofHBO ’s version of Liane Moriarty ’s novel , when Dern ’s Renata Klein threatens a first - grader in front of his social class for allegedly choking her girl , she makes it clear that she isnotmessing around . Rather than being a kindhearted figure , Dern demonstrate her range inBLLas a major power - suit - wearing , overprotective , chief - bitch mama bear . It ’s a balance bit she handle expertly , bringing comedic relief to the series even as she plays a mother in emotional turmoil . As the surprisal 2d season hear Renata face bankruptcy , no thanks to her hubby , Dern was often given slight more than memeable material to work with . But even then , you ca n’t refuse she kept buff express joy at her incredible line of work legal transfer and spitfire rage , whether she was telling her kid ’s principal that she ’d " buy a blooming polar bear for every child in this school " or screaming at her husband behind bars that she " willnotnotbe rich ! " We sure do n’t see her wealth of talent ever fading . — SB

7.Smooth Talk(1985)

This ' eighty Sundance jewel steer by Joyce Chopra and establish on the Joyce Carol Oates short account " Where Are You Going , Where Have You Been ? " is about the convergence of sexual exploration and exploitation , and Dern ’s 15 - year - older Connie is at the center of it . The black sheep in her Southern house , she ’d rather wear cutoffs to the mall and flirt with boys than aid around the farmhouse like her mother ( Mary Kay Place ) ask her to . tight following Connie ’s acts of adolescent rebellion and her fatal meeting with a indisposed old man ( Treat Williams ) , the then-18 - year - old paints a delicate portrait of the confusion girls can face when they experience empowered to maltreat into their womanhood . With subtlety , the young star convinces you that exemption could be found lying out in the sun or ride shotgun , and how terrorize it is when that sense of artlessness is turn a loss . — SB

6.Jurassic Park(1993)

Perhaps the most iconic role of Dern ’s storied career , her turn of events as paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler inJurassic Parkwas a blessing for both legal action moving-picture show and the harbinger of a more inclusive era in the biologic sciences . ( We lie with char in STEM . ) stride onto Isla Nublar in a pair of enormous , pleated khaki shorts and a storage tank - top - under - knot - button - down combo that indie girls are still trying to emulate , Dr. Sattler is a force-out to be reckoned with , as a respected professional in her theater who is n’t opposed to jogging around the hobo camp in hiking boots or sticking her limb articulatio cubiti - late into Triceratops droppings . She ’s one of the most well - rounded military action heroines in modern celluloid , secret plan to flirt a little with the hot mathematician , while shutting down the male characters ' citation to the gender binary in the next breath . Simply put , she ’s a natural endowment to weirdo dinosaur girls everywhere . Dinosaurs run through man ; fair sex inherits the earth . — ES

5.Twin Peaks: The Return(2017)

Reboots and revivals get a mint of criticism these days for explain away too much of the mystery that makes a taradiddle oeuvre so well . WhenTwin Peaksfans learned that not only would David Lynch ’s revisitation of the series precede the mythical Diane to whom Agent Dale Cooper ’s devious dispatches were always address , but that she would be a polar character , some were skeptical . How silly fans felt , then , when Laura Dern ’s portrayal of the " cross between a paragon and a cabaret singer " cease up being one of the upright parts of the show . Dressed in slinky outfits and bold wigs with a coffin nail and an arsenal of acidic comment in hand , Dern ’s Diane Evans steal every picture she was in , even when she was trying to slip people ’s soul . — ES

4.The Tale(2018)

Dern ’s work in Jennifer Fox ’s harrowingThe Talewould probably be more widely recognized as one of the 2010s ' defining carrying into action if the film had been released in theaters rather than on HBO , where it came and went after a buzzy Sundance premiere . That say , Dern is extraordinary in Fox ’s piece of memoir , playing a woman who unpack her memory and come to realize the extent of the sexual abuse she brook at the hands of her horseback tantalise instructor and the fair sex who helped prepare her for him . Dern has the difficult chore of playing an otherwise well - aline adult confront her yesteryear and a perception of herself that she had long immerse . — EZ

3.Wild at Heart(1990)

After starring in 1986’sBlue Velvet , Dern team up up with David Lynch for a persona that was the opposite of the uninitiate schoolgirl Sandy . join by none other thanNicolas Cagein a snakeskin blazer , Wild at Heartfollows two lover , Sailor ( John Cage ) and Lula ( Dern ) , who go on the run after Lula ’s disapproving mother endeavor to get Sailor drink down . Dern gyrates and coo , a femme fatale who ’ll do anything to fend by her human . " Wild " might be too on the olfactory organ to describe it , but Dern radiates sensualness with her light southerly lilt . It ’s a great reflection of just how campy and fun Dern can be with the right role.—Kerensa Cadenas

2.Citizen Ruth(1996)

In the years immediately followingJurassic Park , Dern was mostly working in TV movies and guest stint , but Alexander Payne ’s 1996 indie film about a woman caught in the middle of an abortion debate proves her talent is think of for the big filmdom . The film — which , of grade , is still as relevant as ever — star Dern as the toppingly identify Ruth Stoops . Ruth is a paint - snort ne’er - do - well who inadvertently becomes the face of an miscarriage contravention after her latest arrest find her face rush for peril a fetus . Over the path of the moving-picture show , she ’s passed around between Evangelicals and abortion - right activist , each seek to use her for their own docket . The bothsidesism of the moving-picture show does n’t totally oblige up , but Dern ’s body of work certainly does . It ’s a portrayal of a woman who never knew she had a choice , is finally offer one , and realizes she does n’t in reality give a shit either way . — EZ

1.Enlightened(2011–2013)

If you ever need a cry , put on the Todd Haynes - directed episode ofEnlightenedtitled " All I Ever desire . " Perhaps it ’s the melancholy direction and — by this point , in the show ’s 2nd time of year — Dern and Luke Wilson ’s lived - in public presentation as they expend time reconnecting in their relationship . Mike White ’s pre - White Lotustour de force , which premiered in 2011 , follows Amy Jellicoe ( Dern ) , a total mess who " finds herself " by way of a Hawaiian health retreat after a personal and professional nuclear meltdown . The HBO show cop a pocket-sized but fervent audience at the clock time and now gets dispose around as something that was way forrader of its time . That ’s because the pairing of White ’s spiky comedy and Dern ’s manic inflections are a perfect match . Amy is impossibly selfish , yet you ca n’t help but rout for her ill-conceived activism as she navigates her alcohol-dependent ex - husband , render to her toxic work , and move back in with her mother ( Diane Ladd ) . As with any Dern role , she position absolutely everything into it . If you are n’t sure of that , just take in the opening minutes of the pilot , where she hale give an lift threshold with sheer , animalistic rage . — KC

best laura dern movies