Raised by mother and grandmother after parents' divorce

Moved to New York for three years when Diane Ladd remarried

Made TV debut on the CBS soap opera, "The Secret Storm"; her mother played a regular on the series

First feature film credit was an extra in "White Lightning"

Returned to Los Angeles with her mother

Made a brief appearance in Martin Scorsese's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"

Played bit part as an irksome party crasher in Adrian Lyne's "Foxes"

Petitioned to become an emancipated minor so she could work adult hours

TV-movie debut, "Happy Endings" (NBC)

Played a young student, opposite Nick Nolte in "Teachers"

Attracted attention as Eric Stoltz's blind girlfriend in Peter Bogdanovich's "Mask"

Offered an impressive performance as a sexually curious teenager in her first leading role in Joyce Chopra's "Smooth Talk"

First collaboration with director David Lynch, "Blue Velvet"

Reteamed with Stoltz for the forced and disappointing "Haunted Summer"

Made New York stage debut opposite then-boyfriend Kyle MacLachlan in the Off-Broadway production, "The Palace of Amateurs"

Played a chain-smoking floozy in Lynch's "Wild at Heart"; onscreen mom is played by real-life mother, Diane Ladd

Starred as pure-hearted nymphomaniac in Martha Coolidge's "Rambling Rose"; earned first Best Actress Academy Award nomination; also earned a Golden Globe nomination

Received an Emmy nomination for her performance as the widow of an Air Force pilot in the HBO film "Afterburn"

Cast as a paleontologist in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster feature, "Jurassic Park"

Portrayed a criminologist assisting in the tracking of a pair of escaped convicts in the Clint Eastwood-directed "A Perfect World"

Cast as a woman who falls in love with a man who may be a murderer in the Showtime series "Fallen Angels"; received an Emmy nomination

Directorial debut, "The Gift"; also starred with Diane Ladd and Isabella Rossellini; broadcast as a presentation of Showtime's Directed By series

Executive produced (and acted in) Showtime's "Down Came a Blackbird"

Acted the part of Vicki Weaver in "Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy" (CBS)

Portrayed an irresponsible and drug abusing pregnant woman in Alexander Payne's directorial debut "Citizen Ruth"; Diane Ladd makes a cameo appearance, as Dern's mother

Received an Emmy nomination for her guest role as a lesbian who coaxes Ellen DeGeneres out of the closet in the famous "Puppy Episode" of the ABC series "Ellen"

Offered a critically acclaimed performance in Showtime's "The Baby Dance"; produced by Jodie Foster; earned a Golden Globe nomination

Played a teacher, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Cooper in Joe Johnston's "October Sky"

Acted with then boyfriend Billy Bob Thornton in "Daddy and Them"; written and directed by Thornton

Cast as a doctor who takes on HMOs in the Showtime movie "Damaged Care"

Co-starred with Mark Ruffalo, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts in "We Don't Live Here Anymore"

Appeared in the drama "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio" opposite Julianne Moore

Co-starred in "Happy Endings," a comedic drama about the ups and downs of relationships

Reteamed with Lynch to star in "Inland Empire"

Played Molly Shannon's know-it-all sister-in-law in "Year of the Dog"

Portrayed controversial Florida politician Katherine Harris in the HBO movie "Recount"; earned an Emmy nomination in 2008 for Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV-Movie