Ariana Richards | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ariana Clarice Richards |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, painter |
| Years active | 1987–2013 |
| Spouse |
Mark Aaron Bolton
(m. 2013) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Ariana Clarice Richards is an American painter and former actress. She is best known for her role as Lex Murphy in the blockbuster film Jurassic Park. Richards won several Young Artist Awards for her acting as a child, but as an adult has focused primarily on her art career.
Personal life
Richards's sister, Bethany, is an actress. Her maternal grandmother, who was of Italian ancestry, was a descendant of Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli.[1][2] In addition to Italian, her maternal grandfather, William Otto Garrison's father, John, had English ancestry. Richards is a descendant of boxer John L. Sullivan, who had Irish ancestry.[3]
Acting
Richards made her acting debut in 1987's Into the Homeland, a made-for-cable release that starred Powers Boothe. She had a supporting role as Carol Wetherby in Prancer. She also appeared as Mindy Sterngood in the first Tremors film and reprised her role in the second sequel Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, which went straight-to-video.
Her most notable appearance was as Lex Murphy in the first Jurassic Park film; she reprised the role briefly in the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. She has been featured in other films such as Angus, where she played a high school cheerleader; she also appeared on television episodes of The Golden Girls, Empty Nest and Boy Meets World.
In addition to acting in movies, Richards appeared in the 1997 music video "Brick" by Ben Folds Five, portraying a high school student having an abortion. She appeared in the September 2006 issue of the British movie magazine Empire discussing a possible return to acting. Richards starred in the 2013 film Battledogs, shot in Buffalo, New York.[5]
In February 2014, Richards was voted No. 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Child Stars.[6]
Awards
- Favourite Newcomer – Japan: Jurassic Park (1994)-Won
- Favourite Newcomer – Australia: Jurassic Park (1994)-Won
- Favourite Newcomer – United Kingdom: Jurassic Park (1994)-Won
- Bambi Award: Jurassic Park (1993)-Won
- Young Artist Award – Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture: Jurassic Park (1993)-Won
- Young Artist Award – Best Young Actress in a Television Movie: Locked Up: A Mother's Rage (1992)-Won
- Young Artist Award – Best Young Actress in a Television Movie: Switched At Birth (1991)-Won
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Little Girl | |
| 1989 | Face of the Enemy | Voice-over | |
| 1989 | Prancer | Carol Wetherby | |
| 1990 | Tremors | Mindy Sterngood | |
| 1990 | Spaced Invaders | Kathy Hoxly | |
| 1992 | Timescape | Hillary Wilson | |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Lex Murphy | |
| 1995 | Angus | Melissa Lefevre | |
| 1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Lex Murphy | Cameo appearance |
| 2001 | Tremors 3: Back to Perfection | Mindy Sterngood | Direct-to-video |
| 2013 | Battledogs | Donna Voorhees | Also known as "Ward's Island"[7] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Lisa | Episode: "And Then There Was One" |
| 1987 | Into the Homeland | Ember Swallow (age 5 & 7) | Television film |
| 1988 | My Sister Sam | Morgan | Episode: "Life, Death and Admiral Andy" |
| 1989 | Empty Nest | Phoebe Swenson | Episode: "Harry Snubs Laverne" |
| 1990 | Island Son | Tess Delaney | Episode: "Viruses" |
| 1990 | The Incident | Nancy | Television film |
| 1991 | Switched at Birth | Kimberly Mays, Age 9-11 | Television film |
| 1992 | Locked Up: A Mother's Rage (aka The Other Side of Love) | Kelly Gallagher | Television film |
| 1992 | Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore | Nancy | Television film |
| 1994 | The Kidsongs TV Show | Herself | Episode: "Dinosaur Day" |
| 1995 | Capitol Critters | President's Granddaughter | Voice only Episode: "If Lovin' You Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Rat" |
| 1996 | Born Free: A New Adventure | Valerie Porter | Television film |
| 1996 | Boy Meets World | Claire Ferguson | Episode: "Dangerous Secret" |
| 1997 | Total Security | Karen Dieboldt | Episode: "Who's Poppa?" |
| 1997 | The Princess Stallion | Sarah Stewart | Television film |
| 1998 | Broken Silence: A Moment of Truth Movie (a.k.a. Race Against Fear) | Mickey Carlyle | Television film |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Original artist(s) | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Brick" | Ben Folds Five | Kevin Bray |
Music
On December 17, 1993, Richards released a CD album First Love on the Pony Canyon label in Japan. The album was released only in Japan and is rare and out-of-print. The tracks from the CD can be viewed on the YouTube channel of Philip Jennelle. The album was a mix between teen-pop and dance-friendly ballads of the early 1990s. There was also a single released in very small volume. Ariana and her mother wrote the words to the track "You're The Reason".
15 years later, Richards returned briefly to the world of music in September 2008 and released a cover version of David Foster's "The Prayer" in a duet with Chris M. Allport, whom she has known since a young age.
Art
Richards has become a successful artist. Her paintings, usually of landscapes and figures, tend to be in the style of the impressionists. In October 2005, she won first place in the National Professional Oil Painting Competition (sponsored by American Artist magazine) for the painting Lady of the Dahlias.[8]
As of 2013 Richards lived in Salem, Oregon,[9] and was apprenticing under a professional painter.
Awards
- Art of the West's Award of Excellence (2006)
- The National Professional Oil Painting Competition (2005)
References
- ↑ "Book of Memories". Bollmanfuneralhome.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ↑ "Ariana Richards descendant of Carlo Crivelli Itialian Renaissance artist". Galleryariana.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ↑ "Biography – A Brief Introduction". ariana.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ↑ Paul Chi. "Jurassic Park's Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards Today". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Werewolf movie uses Buffalo as stand-in for New York City". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ↑ "VH1′s 100 Greatest Kid Stars Of All Time". Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
- ↑ Jurassic Park Star All Grown Up Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine on The Yo Show. Accessed October 19, 2012.
- ↑ Fine Art Articles, Art Awards, Ariana Richards Archived November 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Click, Carl (April 5, 2013). "'Jurassic Park:' 20 years later: Where actress Ariana Richards is today". KATU News. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
External links
- Gallery Ariana—Ariana Richards' art gallery website
- Ariana Richards at IMDb