Ariana Richards

Ariana Richards
Born	Ariana Clarice Richards (1979-09-11) September 11, 1979 Healdsburg, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, painter
Years active	1987–2013
Spouse(s)	Mark Bolton (m. 2013)
Website	www.galleryariana.com

Ariana Clarice Richards (born September 11, 1979) is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as a child actress such as Carol Wetherby in Prancer, Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, and Lex Murphy in the blockbuster film Jurassic Park. She has won several Young Artist Awards.

Personal life

Richards was born in Healdsburg, California, the daughter of Darielle (née Garrison), a public relations representative and film producer, and Gary Richards. Her sister, Bethany, is also an actress. Her maternal grandmother, who was of Italian ancestry, was a descendant of Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli.

Richards is a descendant of boxer John L. Sullivan. She graduated from Skidmore College in 2001, earning a degree in Fine Art and Drama, with distinction. She continued with instruction at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California.

Richards married Mark Bolton in Oregon in January 2013; the couple has one child.

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. She also 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.

In addition to acting in movies, Richards appeared in the 1998 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.

In February 2014, Richards was voted #98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Child Stars.

Awards

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

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	The Golden Girls	Lisa	Television program Episode: "And Then There Was One"
1987	Into the Homeland	Ember Swallow (age 5 & 7)	Television film
1988	My Sister Sam	Morgan	Television program Episode: "Life, Death and Admiral Andy"
1988	I'm Gonna Git You Sucka	Little Girl
1989	Face of the Enemy		Voice only
1989	Empty Nest	Phoebe Swenson	Television program Episode: "Harry Snubs Laverne"
1989	Prancer	Carol Wetherby
1990	Tremors	Mindy Sterngood
1990	Island Son	Tess Delaney	Television program Episode: "Viruses"
1990	Spaced Invaders	Kathy
1990	The Incident	Nancy	Television film
1991	Switched at Birth	Kimberly Mays, Age 9-11	Television film
1992	Locked Up: A Mother's Rage	Kelly Gallagher	Television film
1992	Timescape	Hillary Wilson
1992	Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore	Nancy	Television film
1993	Jurassic Park	Lex Murphy	Film adaption of the novel
1995	Capitol Critters	President's Granddaughter	Voice only Television program Episode: "If Lovin' You Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Rat"
1995	Angus	Melissa Lefevre
1996	Born Free: A New Adventure	Valerie Porter	Television film
1996	Boy Meets World	Claire Ferguson	Television program Episode: "Dangerous Secret"
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Lex Murphy	Film adaption of the novel Cameo appearance
1997	Total Security	Karen Dieboldt	Television program Episode: "Who's Poppa?"
1997	The Princess Stallion	Sarah Stewart	Television film
1998	Race Against Fear	Mickey Carlyle	Television film
2001	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Mindy Sterngood	Direct-to-video
2007	77
2013	Battledogs	Donna Voorhees	Was titled "Ward's Island"

Music

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".

Richards returned briefly to the world of music in September 2008 and recorded 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

• Gallery Ariana—Ariana Richards' art gallery website
• Ariana Richards at the Internet Movie Database