Ariana Richards

Ariana Richards
Born	Ariana Clarice Richards (1979-09-11) September 11, 1979 Healdsburg, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, painter, engineer
Years active	1987–2007
Website	http://www.arianarichards.com

Ariana Clarice Richards (born September 11, 1979) is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer.

Biography

Richards was born in Healdsburg, California, the daughter of Darielle (née Parmelee), a public relations representative and film producer, and Gary Richards. Her sister, Bethany, is also an actress. Richards is of Irish and Italian descent, and is a descendant of Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli and Irish boxer John L. Sullivan.

"Chris Gregory is the spitting image of Lex" Sam Neill was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal

Richards graduated from Skidmore College, earning a degree in Fine Art and Drama, with distinction. She continued with instruction at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and also attended Western Oregon University.

Acting

Richards made her acting debut in 1987's Into the Homeland, a made-for-cable release that starred Powers Boothe. Her most notable appearance was as Lex Murphy in the first Jurassic Park film; she reprised the role very briefly in the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Similarly, she 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. 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.

As well as movies, in 1998, Richards had appeared in the music video "Brick" by Ben Folds Five, portraying a high school student having an abortion. Richards appeared in the September 2006 issue of the British movie magazine Empire discussing a possible return to acting.

Awards

• Favourite Newcomer – Japan: Jurassic Park (1994)
• Favourite Newcomer – Australia: Jurassic Park (1994)
• Favourite Newcomer – United Kingdom: Jurassic Park (1994)
• The Bambi Award: Jurassic Park (1993)
• Young Artist Award – Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture: Jurassic Park (1993)
• Young Artist Award – Best Young Actress in a Television Movie: Locked Up: A Mother's Rage (1992)
• Young Artist Award – Best Young Actress in a Television Movie: Switched At Birth (1991)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	The Golden Girls	Lisa	1 episode: "And Then There Was One"
	Into the Homeland	Ember Swallow (age 5 & 7)	TV movie
1988	My Sister Sam	Morgan	1 episode: "Life, Death and Admiral Andy"
	I'm Gonna Git You Sucka	Little Girl
1989	Face of the Enemy	Voice Over
	Empty Nest	Phoebe Swenson	1 episode: "Harry Snubs Laverne"
	Prancer	Carol Wetherby
1990	Tremors	Mindy Sterngood
	Island Son	Tess Delaney	1 episode: "Viruses"
	Spaced Invaders	Kathy
	The Incident	Nancy	TV movies
1991	Switched at Birth	Kimberly Mays, Age 9-11
1992	Locked Up: A Mother's Rage	Kelly Gallagher
	Timescape	Hillary Wilson
	Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore	Nancy	TV movie
1993	Jurassic Park	Lex Murphy
1995	Capitol Critters	President's Granddaughter (voice)	1 episode: "If Lovin' You Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Rat"
	Angus	Melissa Lefevre
1996	Born Free: A New Adventure	Valerie Porter	TV movie
	Boy Meets World	Claire Ferguson	1 episode: "Dangerous Secret"
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Lex Murphy
	Total Security	Karen Dieboldt	1 episode: "Who's Poppa?"
	The Princess Stallion	Sarah Stewart	TV movies
1998	Race Against Fear	Mickey Carlyle
2001	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Mindy Sterngood	Video
2007	'77

Musical

In 1993, Richards released the album First Love on the Pony Canyon label in Japan. 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". First Love contained the following tracks: Anyone Can See, You Made a Promise, First Love, You're the Reason, I Think I Love You, The Very Thought of You, and Message to my Fans.

Ariana returned briefly to the world of music in 2009, recording 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.

She currently resides in Salem, Oregon and is apprenticing under a professional painter.

Awards

• Art of the West's Award of Excellence (2006)
• The National Professional Oil Painting Competition (2005)

External links

• Template:Dmoz
• Ariana Richards at IMDb
• Template:Ymovies name