The Resistance got a badass, purple-haired new leader in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with
Laura Dern joining the series as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.
We're not going to spoil her role for you here, but anyone who's seen the film knows
how important she is—and how stellar Dern was in the part.
For those wondering where you've seen her before, here's why Vice Admiral Holdo looks
so familiar.
Rambling Rose
Dern is the daughter of screen veterans Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, so she had no trouble
breaking into the business in the '80s with movies like Mask, Smooth Talk, Wild at Heart,
and Blue Velvet.
Dern really entered the spotlight, though, with her starring role as the title character
in 1991's Rambling Rose.
Starring opposite her mother, she earned widespread critical admiration—and her first Oscar
nomination.
Jurassic Park
A year after she broke into the big time, Dern joined the blockbuster fold by starring
in the big screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park as Dr. Ellie Sattler.
Jurassic Park ended up being a huge box office success and was also a hit with critics.
The film spawned two sequels, and Dern had a brief cameo in Jurassic Park III.
Now that the series has been rebooted with Jurassic World, Dern has hinted that she might
be reprising her old role again sooner than later.
"She's a tough feminist!"
"We need her back."
Citizen Ruth
Dern also starred in Alexander Payne's first notable feature, Citizen Ruth, as the title
character, a poor pregnant woman who becomes a central figure in the national debate about
abortion.
Dern said she suspected that Payne would be the next big thing when she signed on to Citizen
Ruth, and her respect for the director may be part of why she decided to work with him
again in his 2017 feature Downsizing, which arrived in theaters just a week after The
Last Jedi.
October Sky
Dern's last role of the 20th century came in 1999's October Sky, a bio-pic in which
she played the inspirational science teacher to a group of children who took to rocketry
as a way of escaping their mining town.
Her character was an advocate and a source of strength for the boys throughout, and served
as one of the only likable adults in the movie.
Recount
In 2008, Dern helped HBO rehash a political scandal in the TV movie Recount, which followed
the controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election.
In the film, Dern plays Katherine Harris, then Secretary of State of Florida, where
a recount controversy erupted between candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore.
Dern earned her second Golden Globe win for the part and was also nominated for an Emmy,
a SAG Award, and more.
Dern said she learned a great deal from the experience of playing such a controversial
real-life figure, telling the Washington Post:
"Recount taught me a lot because my dad told me you can never hate the characters you play
and you have to love your characters…"
"I had to just figure out how to give some humanity and depth of passion to a person
that had become a huge stereotype in this country."
Enlightened
Her next small screen role of note was in HBO's critically acclaimed dramedy series
Enlightened.
"I will kill you motherf---er."
On the show, Dern played Amy Jellicoe, a woman who, after a nervous breakdown, comes back
to work with a new outlook on life.
Dern collected another Golden Globe win and an Emmy nomination for the show and served
as both co-creator and star.
However, like many critically acclaimed dramas in the era of peak TV, Enlightened never found
a big audience, and the show was canceled after just two seasons.
The Fault in Our Stars
In 2014, Dern went back to the mainstream for the teen-oriented romantic comedy The
Fault in Our Stars.
The movie, based on the John Green novel of the same name, featured Dern as the mother
of Shailene Woodley's Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenager who falls in love while she deals
with terminal thyroid cancer.
The film was a critical success and arrived as a box office smash.
Wild
It took Dern over 20 years to earn another Academy Award nomination after Rambling Rose,
but her nod for 2014's Wild was certainly well-deserved.
Dern starred in the film as the mother of Reese Witherspoon's Cheryl Strayed, who flashes
back to her childhood as she hikes up the Pacific Crest Trail trying to discover her
true self.
Not only was her performance celebrated, but it wouldn't be the last buzzy collaboration
she'd have with Witherspoon.
Big Little Lies
HBO's latest awards season darling, Big Little Lies, has earned nods for all of its main
stars at the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and more.
In the series, Dern plays Renata Klein, the uptight nemesis of Reese Witherspoon's Madeline
McKenzie.
And Dern walked away with a Golden Globe nomination and an Emmy win, beating out her co-star Shailene
Woodley for the latter award.
Although Big Little Lies was initially billed as a limited series, it's been renewed for
a second season following overwhelming fan demand.
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