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Ariana Richards

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Ariana Richards
Richards GFCC Messe Essen 2024
Born
Ariana Clarice Richards

(1979-09-11) September 11, 1979 (age 45)
Healdsburg, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, painter
Years active1987–2001; 2013
Spouse
Mark Aaron Bolton
​
​
(m. 2013)​
Children1
Websitewww.galleryariana.com

Ariana Clarice Richards[1] (born September 11, 1979) 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.

Acting

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Born September 11, 1979,[2] a native of Healdsburg, California. Richards made her acting debut in an episode of The Golden Girls in 1987;[3] later that year she made her big-screen bow in Into the Homeland,[4] a made-for-cable release that starred Powers Boothe. She had a supporting role as Carol Wetherby in Prancer. She appeared as Mindy Sterngood in the first Tremors,[5] film and reprised her role in the second sequel Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, which went straight-to-video.[5]

She portrayed Lex Murphy in the first Jurassic Park film; she reprised the role briefly in the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park.[5] 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.[5]

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.[6]

In February 2014, Richards was voted No. 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Child Stars.[7]

Filmography

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Film

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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"[8]

Television

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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
2024 Mr Snuggles Daisy Web series

Music videos

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Year Title Original artist(s) Director(s)
1997 "Brick" Ben Folds Five Kevin Bray

Music

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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".

Fifteen 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

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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.[9]

From very young, Richards has been a keen artist, partaking in painting, sketching, and sculpting, alongside her acting career. As an adult her artwork has evolved, featuring scenes from nature like seascapes and landscapes, managing to encompass both realism and impressionism in her work.[10]

Personal life

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Richards's sister, Bethany, is an actress. Her maternal grandmother, who was of Italian ancestry, was a descendant of Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli.[11][12] 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.[13]

Richards married Mark Bolton in Oregon in January 2013.[14]

As of April 2013 Richards lived in Salem, Oregon.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Richards, Watson, Chamberlain Star, The Lima News TV Week p. 20". Retrieved May 17, 2024. Ariana Clarice Richards (left), Albert Watson (center) and Richard Chamberlain star in 'Island Son' at 9 this evening on CBS
  2. ^ "This day in history: Birthdays". Boston Globe. September 11, 2023. p. B2. ProQuest 2863154987. Actor Ariana Richards is 44. See also:
    • "Gemini: Love is in the stars". Lewiston Sun Journal. September 11, 2008. p. C13. ProQuest 378917048. CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ariana Richards, 29
  3. ^ "Mailbag: More Dinosaurs to Come?". The Marshall News Messenger. April 28, 1996. p. 43. Retrieved May 17, 2024. "Born in Healdsburg, California (in Sonoma County), Ariana got her first modeling job at the age of seven 'It was so much fun I knew I wanted to do more, and to act.' She began with commercials and, in that same year, landed her first acting job on an episode of 'The Golden Girls'."
  4. ^ "FACES: Ariana Richards". The Vancouver Sun. September 14, 1993. p. C10. ProQuest 243258043. HER CREDENTIALS: Into the Homeland (1987), I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka (1988), Prancer (1989), Tremors (1990), Spaced Invaders (1990) and the made-for-TV series Incident (1990).
  5. ^ a b c d "Ariana Richards Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "Werewolf movie uses Buffalo as stand-in for New York City". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  7. ^ "VH1′s 100 Greatest Kid Stars Of All Time". vh1.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  8. ^ Jurassic Park Star All Grown Up Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine on The Yo Show. Accessed October 19, 2012.
  9. ^ Fine Art Articles, Art Awards, Ariana Richards Archived November 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Ariana Richards Credits". theartlifegallery.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  11. ^ "Book of Memories". Bollmanfuneralhome.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  12. ^ "Ariana Richards descendant of Carlo Crivelli Itialian Renaissance artist". Galleryariana.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  13. ^ "Biography – A Brief Introduction". ariana.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
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