Ariana Clarice Richards (born September 11, 1979) is an American painter and former actress. She is best known for her role as Lex Murphy in the 1993 film ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

''. Richards won several

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

s for her acting as a child, but as an adult has focused primarily on her art career.

Acting

Born September 11, 1979, a native of

Healdsburg, California Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,340. Healdsburg is centered on a 19th-century plaza. History Early inhabitants of the local area included the Pomo ...

. Richards made her acting debut in an episode of ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'' in 1987; later that year she made her big-screen bow in ''Into the Homeland'', 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'', film and reprised her role in the second sequel '' Tremors 3: Back to Perfection'', which went straight-to-video. She portrayed Lex Murphy in the first ''

'' film; she reprised the role briefly in the sequel '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park''. She has been featured in other films such as ''

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

'', where she played a high school cheerleader; she also appeared on television episodes of ''

'', '' Empty Nest'' and ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews ( Ben Savage) and his friends and f ...

''. In addition to acting in movies, Richards appeared in the 1997 music video "

Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

" 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 An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' discussing a possible return to acting. Richards starred in the 2013 film '' Battledogs'', shot in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. In February 2014, Richards was voted No. 98 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's 100 Greatest Child Stars.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Music

On December 17, 1993, Richards released a CD album ''First Love'' on the

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...

label in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 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 YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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 David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

'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, Richards won first place in the National Professional Oil Painting Competition (sponsored by ''American Artist'' magazine) for the painting ''Lady of the Dahlias''. From an early age, 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.

Personal life

Richards's sister, Bethany, is an actress. Her maternal grandmother, who was of Italian ancestry, was a descendant of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

painter Carlo Crivelli. 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. Richards married Mark Bolton in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in January 2013. As of April 2013 Richards lived in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

References

External links

Gallery Ariana
��Ariana Richards' art gallery website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Ariana Living people 1979 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women painters Actresses from California Actresses from Salem, Oregon American child actresses American child singers American film actresses American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Norwegian descent American television actresses ArtCenter College of Design alumni Artists from Salem, Oregon Painters from California People from Healdsburg, California Pony Canyon artists Singers from California Skidmore College alumni Western Oregon University alumni 21st-century American singers