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Laura Dern may be the next President of the Academy

Laura Dern - the next Academy president? (Credit: WENN)
Laura Dern – the next Academy president? (Credit: WENN)

Actress Laura Dern has starred in plenty of major movies, but she may be set to take on her biggest role yet – as a contender for the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

AMPAS, more commonly known as The Academy, are the board of film industry professionals who cast the votes in the annual Oscars ceremony, and their current President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, is reaching the end of her term this July.

According to Variety, Dern’s name has come up as a potential successor. The 50-year old actress, who was elected to the AMPAS board of Governors in 2016, is said to be “interested” in running for Academy President, but has yet to officially throw her hat in the ring.

Dern is a two-time Oscar nominee herself. She was first nominated as Best Actress for 1992’s ‘Rambling Rose.’ Her mother Diane Ladd co-starred and received a Best Supporting Actress nod, marking the only time parent and child actors have been nominated alongside one another for the same film. Dern’s second Oscar nomination was in the Best Supporting Actress category, for 2014’s ‘Wild.’

Laura Dern with Sam Neill in 1993's 'Jurassic Park' (credit: Universal)
Laura Dern with Sam Neill in 1993’s ‘Jurassic Park’ (credit: Universal)

Of course, the actress is best known for playing paleobotanist Dr Ellie Satler in Steven Spielberg’s classic blockbuster ‘Jurassic Park’ (a role she briefly reprised in ‘Jurassic Park III’), as well as for her work with director David Lynch: ‘Blue Velvet,’ ‘Wild at Heart’ and ‘Inland Empire.’ Famously, she also appeared in the groundbreaking episode of sitcom ‘Ellen’ in which Ellen DeGeneres’ title character came out as gay.

Plus, as the daughter of Ladd and Bruce Dern, she pretty much qualifies as Hollywood royalty, which as Variety notes would make her “a splashy choice” for Academy President.

If elected, Dern would not be the first actor to hold the post, which has been filled in the past by Douglas Fairbanks, Gregory Peck, Karl Malden and Bette Davis, among others. Dern would also be the fourth female Academy President, after Davis, Fay Kanin and the incumbent Isaacs.

Dern will next be seen on the big screen in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’,’ opening 15 December.

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