Laura Dern helped make Jurassic Park unforgettable as Ellie Sattler, then built a career far beyond dinosaurs.
She remains active in films and television. Her recent work includes Lonely Planet, Is This Thing On? and a confirmed place in the fourth season of The White Lotus.
As of November 2026, that new White Lotus season is still upcoming. Dern’s current story combines released films with another major television project, rather than a disappearance from Hollywood.
Ellie Sattler stayed with audiences
For many viewers, Dern will always be the scientist willing to enter danger and challenge the assumptions around her in Jurassic Park.
She returned to Ellie in Jurassic World Dominion in 2022, reuniting with Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. The official Amblin film page identifies Dern among the returning cast.
In a British Vogue interview about the return, Dern recalled wanting Ellie to stand on equal footing with the men in the original story.
That concern helps explain why the character has remained meaningful. Ellie was a professional with expertise and agency, not simply someone standing beside the adventure.
Returning to the role also connected different generations of moviegoers. Some had watched Dern in the original film; others encountered her through the newer franchise.
But the reunion was one part of an already varied working life.
Original photograph, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Television gave her another set of defining characters
Dern’s television work includes Enlightened, where she played Amy Jellicoe, and Big Little Lies, where she became Renata Klein.
The Television Academy’s biography records her recognition for both series, including her Emmy win for Big Little Lies.
Those roles offered distinct kinds of intensity. One centered on a woman attempting to rebuild her life and make a difference; the other placed Dern within a community where status, parenting and concealed problems collided.
Television allowed viewers to spend longer with those contradictions. It also helped establish that Dern’s appeal did not depend on one franchise or one type of character.
Her work later earned another major honor on film. At the 2020 Oscars, she won Supporting Actress for Marriage Story, as the Academy’s ceremony record confirms.
For readers interested in performers whose later careers opened new opportunities, Jodie Foster’s recent work offers another example of continued movement between film and television.
Lonely Planet put romance at the center
In 2024, Dern starred opposite Liam Hemsworth in Lonely Planet. She played Katherine, a novelist who travels to a writers’ retreat in Morocco and finds herself facing questions beyond the work she hoped to complete.
Netflix’s guide to the film describes the character’s connection with Hemsworth’s Owen and the changing sense of self that develops through their relationship.
Dern discussed Katherine as someone accustomed to shaping narratives but less practiced at examining her own life closely.
The film, written and directed by Susannah Grant, gave that personal uncertainty room within a romance. It also placed an established actress at the center of a story about attraction and possibility.
That is a different kind of screen presence from an action franchise or an ensemble drama. The character’s attention turns inward, toward what she wants from her own next chapter.
Is This Thing On? explored a relationship in transition
Dern followed that with Is This Thing On?, directed by Bradley Cooper. Searchlight Pictures’ official production page lists its theatrical release in December 2025.
She played Tess opposite Will Arnett’s Alex. As their marriage begins to unravel, Alex turns toward stand-up comedy while Tess considers the sacrifices she has made for their family.
The story follows both people through questions about identity, parenting and whether their connection can change form.
In a January 2026 interview with The New Indian Express, Dern described the film as being about “empathy, kindness, love, and learning to communicate.”
She also explained that she, Arnett and Cooper shared personal stories in workshops to build a sense of the couple’s history.
That preparation reflects the kind of detail a long relationship requires on screen. The audience needs to believe that the characters had years together before the moment when the film begins.
Original photograph, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
The White Lotus is her next major television chapter
In April 2026, Dern was announced as a cast member for season four of The White Lotus. ABC News reported the announcement, citing the show’s official social media account.
The season takes place during the Cannes Film Festival and follows another group of hotel guests and employees. HBO’s production announcement confirms the French setting.
This is an upcoming project, so its casting should not be confused with a season already available to watch. The role’s full impact will only become clear when the episodes arrive.
For audiences following the anthology’s performers, Jennifer Coolidge’s career after The White Lotus provides a related look at how the series fits into an established actress’s wider work.
Where Laura Dern is now
Dern’s recent credits show continued movement between romance, family drama, major franchises and television ensembles.
There is no single comeback that explains this stage of her career. Jurassic World Dominion, Lonely Planet and Is This Thing On? are different projects serving different audiences, while The White Lotus adds another chapter ahead.
The familiar characters remain part of her connection with viewers. The newer ones show an actress still finding different experiences to put on screen.