Oscar Winner Says She Lost Roles ‘150 Times’ for Being Tall

Laura Dern, 58, opened up about the struggles of being a tall woman in Hollywood.

“Not to get TMI (too much information) on body types, but I have a radically tall torso,” Dern, who stands 5-foot-11, told The Independent.

“I was 5′11″ at 12 years old and acting already, so I was losing parts constantly!” the Oscar-winning actress told the outlet, estimating that she had been turned down for roles “150 times” due to her height.

In her latest movie, Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On?, Dern was cast opposite Arrested Development star Will Arnett. In the film, the pair play Tess and Alex Novak, a married couple in the process of getting a divorce.

Despite Arnett standing 6-foot-2, Dern’s “radically tall torso” affected their sitting-down scenes.

“When Will and I are sitting side by side, we’re the same height,” she said, adding, “And it’s crazy to be in a scene with a male actor, and we’re actually looking straight into each other’s eyes, you know?”

For her role as Tess, however, her stature brought a unique tone to the table.

“When [Tess] tells [Alex], ‘Something is wrong [between us], this isn’t working,’ I had to be formidable coming at him,” Dern said.

Although Dern is noticeably taller than most women in Hollywood—and plenty of the men, too—her height has not kept her from achieving fame.

Dern, the daughter of actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, had her breakout role as a teenager, playing Sandy Williams in David Lynch’s legendary 1986 film, Blue Velvet. She gained international recognition as Dr. Ellie Sattler in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, and delivered an Academy Award–winning performance as Nora Fanshaw in 2019’s Marriage Story.

Dern also won an Emmy for her role as Renata Klein in Big Little Lies in 2017.

Other famous actresses who share the same stats include Nicole Kidman and Uma Thurman, both of whom have spoken about their experiences growing up tall.

Her height has also given Dern other kinds of opportunities, including a no-brainer side gig as a model. In October 2025, she walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week for designer Gabriela Hearst.