Oscar winner Laura Dern: On Marriage Story, Little Women, working with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman – and being ‘very tall’

Laura Dern – who just –won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG award for her role in the film Marriage Story – turns 53 today (February 10). The actress talks about the joy of working with women, and why she’s proud of her towering height.

She is enjoying her career right now with roles in Little Women, Marriage Story and Big Little Lies

It’s a wonderful time for me. I feel privileged to be able to work with so many talented women on these kinds of projects. When I started working over 30 years ago on Little Foxes [1979] with Jodie Foster, the entire crew was male, including the hairdresser and make-up artists.

I didn’t get the chance to work with a female director until I did Certain Women [2016]. And now Little Women with [director] Greta Gerwig – you get the feeling that things are moving forward and it’s liberating and exciting to be part of this process of change.

She is a proud feminist – and her son is one, too

One thing that has made me proud is that my son recently told me that he defines himself as a feminist. This is a cause in which we must also involve men because it’s important for both men and women to get rid of these terrible stereotypes defining us in terms of our standing in society and the need for equal pay and opportunity and also in our roles as partners. It’s all connected.

She discovered the rare joy of working with women

One of the most revealing things about working with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman [on HBO television drama series Big Little Lies ] is that, for the most part, we have rarely got to act with other women. It was almost a shocking kind of realisation when you think that we’ve all been working in this business since we were teenagers.