Laura Dern pays tribute to David Lynch: 'I will love and miss you every day'

Laura Dern has honoured the late David Lynch on what would have been his 79th birthday.

The iconic filmmaker died at the age of 78 last week. He had been battling emphysema since 2020, due to years of smoking.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, Laura posted a photo of herself and David sitting and chatting while behind-the-scenes on a film set.

In the accompanying caption, the actress marked the director's birthday.

"Happy birthday, tidbit," she wrote, referring to David's nickname for her.

"I will love and miss you every day for the rest of my life," the 57-year-old added.

David first worked with Laura when he cast her in his 1986 movie Blue Velvet, when she was just 17 years old.

They later went on to collaborate on projects such as 1990's Wild at Heart, which also starred Nicolas Cage, avant-garde music concert performance Industrial Symphony No. 1, and the 2017 revival of his TV series, Twin Peaks.

During an interview with Greta Gerwig on Inside the Actors Studio in 2019, Laura insisted David ensured she was never typecast as an actress.

"It was an amazing gift that a filmmaker who knows you would say," she smiled, according to Entertainment Tonight, before going on to impersonate David. "'Now I want you to play the complete opposite of what you did last time.' And I was like, 'Oh, really David. Do you think it will work?'"

David was married four times and had four children, including filmmaker Jennifer Lynch.