Appeared in the film Carnosaur (1993), the same year that her daughter, Laura Dern, appeared in another dinosaur film, Jurassic Park (1993).
Daughter of Mary Lanier.
Distant cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams.
Grandchildren: Ellery Walker & Jaya Harper.
Had two daughters by ex-husband Bruce Dern. Her first daughter, born in 1961, accidentally drowned at the age of 18 months, years before second daughter, Laura Dern, was born in 1967.
Has a master's degree in psychology and is a part-time nutrition counselor.
Her ancestry includes French, Cherokee and English.
Hers and her daughter's (Laura Dern) Oscar nominations for Rambling Rose (1991) mark the first time a mother and daughter ever received Oscar nominations for the same movie.
Measurements: 34 1/2-22-34 (as a 1950s pin-up) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
Mother-in-law of musician Ben Harper.
Played mother to real-life daughter Laura Dern 5 times: Citizen Ruth (1996), Daddy and Them (2001), Wild at Heart (1990), White Lightning (1973), and the t.v. series "Enlightened" (2011).
Played the original "Flo" - later made famous by Polly Holliday in the sitcom "Alice" (1976) - in the motion picture Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and then played Flo's replacement, Belle, on the sitcom.
She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress three times (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974); Wild at Heart (1990); and Rambling Rose (1991)). All three movies also starred her daughter Laura Dern.
Was a chorus girl at NYC's Copacabana in the 1950s.