The Short Answer: Laura Dern Does Not Have a Husband Now
Laura Dern is not currently married.
She has been married once. Her only husband was musician Ben Harper. They married in 2005 and finalised their divorce in September 2013.
There is no verified report of a remarriage since then. If you see a current article calling Harper her husband, it is out of date. He is her ex-husband.
Laura Dern at a Glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is Laura Dern married now? | No |
| Has she been married before? | Yes, once |
| Ex-husband | Ben Harper, married 23 December 2005, divorced September 2013 |
| Children with Harper | Son Ellery Walker, born 21 August 2001; daughter Jaya, born November 2004 |
| Parents | Actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd |
| Best known for | Jurassic Park, Big Little Lies, and her Academy Award-winning role in Marriage Story |
Who Is Ben Harper?
Ben Harper is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His work blends blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock, and he has won Grammy Awards for his music.
Dern met Harper at one of his concerts in autumn 2000, and they began dating shortly after. They were together for five years before they married.
Their wedding took place on 23 December 2005 at their home in Los Angeles. It was a private ceremony, in keeping with how private the couple kept their relationship.
Through the marriage, Dern also became a stepmother to Harper’s two children from his first marriage, a son and a daughter.
Credit: www.thesun.co.uk
Laura Dern and Ben Harper: A Timeline
- Autumn 2000: Dern meets Harper at one of his concerts and they begin dating.
- 21 August 2001: Their son, Ellery Walker, is born.
- November 2004: Their daughter, Jaya, is born.
- 23 December 2005: Dern and Harper marry at their home in Los Angeles.
- October 2010: Harper files for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Reports at the time said the filing listed their separation as beginning in January 2010.
- 2012: The couple briefly reconcile and attend the Golden Globe Awards together.
- July 2012: Dern files a legal response that reactivates the divorce case.
- September 2013: The divorce is finalised.
That timeline matters because it corrects a common error. Dern and Harper did not divorce in 2010. The 2010 filing started a long process, with a brief reconciliation in between, and the marriage only legally ended in 2013.
Laura Dern’s Children
Dern and Harper have two children together, and older articles often get their details wrong. Here are the corrected facts.
Ellery Walker Harper
Ellery is their older child and their son. He was born on 21 August 2001, before his parents married.
He has worked as a model, including a runway debut for Calvin Klein at New York Fashion Week in September 2018, and he has also explored music.
Jaya Harper
Jaya is their younger child and their daughter. She was born in November 2004, also before her parents married.
She has followed her mother into acting and is often seen with Dern at public events and on red carpets.
Both children were young when the divorce was finalised in 2013, and Dern and Harper shared joint custody as the children grew up.
Was Laura Dern Married to Billy Bob Thornton?
No. Laura Dern was never married to Billy Bob Thornton.
Dern dated Thornton from 1997 to 1999, after meeting him when they both guest-starred on the sitcom Ellen. They were reported to be engaged and living together.
The relationship ended without a wedding. Dern later said, in a 2000 interview with Talk magazine, that she left home to work on a film and, while she was away, her boyfriend got married and she never heard from him again. She described it as feeling like a sudden death, with no closure or clarity.
Thornton married Angelina Jolie in Las Vegas in May 2000. That is why some timelines wrongly list Dern as Thornton’s wife. She was his fiancée, not his wife.
Was Laura Dern Married to Jeff Goldblum?
No. Laura Dern was never married to Jeff Goldblum either.
Dern and Goldblum met on Jurassic Park (1993), where she played Dr Ellie Sattler and he played Dr Ian Malcolm. They began dating after filming, and their relationship is reported to have lasted until 1997.
Reports at the time said they were engaged in 1995, but the engagement did not lead to marriage. The pair stayed on friendly, professional terms and reunited on screen in Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
Goldblum later married Emilie Livingston in 2014. That marriage is separate from his earlier relationship with Dern.
Who Else Has Laura Dern Dated?
Before Harper, Dern was in a relationship with her Blue Velvet co-star Kyle MacLachlan from 1985 to 1989.
After her divorce from Harper, Dern’s name was linked in reports to rapper Common and former NBA player Baron Davis. Those were reported links only. Neither led to a confirmed marriage, and no second husband has been verified.
In short, Harper remains her only husband to date.
Laura Dern’s Career in Brief
Dern comes from an acting family. Her mother is Diane Ladd and her father is Bruce Dern, and she began acting as a child.
Her breakthrough roles included Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart, followed by international recognition as Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park (1993), a role she returned to in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
On television, she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Big Little Lies. In film, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing divorce lawyer Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story (2019). Dern has said her own experience of divorce informed that performance, which gives the role an extra layer for viewers who know her history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Laura Dern’s husband?
She does not have a current husband. Her ex-husband is musician Ben Harper.
When did Laura Dern marry Ben Harper?
They married on 23 December 2005 at their home in Los Angeles, after dating since autumn 2000.
When did Laura Dern and Ben Harper divorce?
Harper filed in October 2010, the couple briefly reconciled in 2012, and the divorce was finalised in September 2013.
How many children does Laura Dern have?
Two with Ben Harper: son Ellery Walker, born in 2001, and daughter Jaya, born in 2004.
Was Laura Dern married to Billy Bob Thornton from 1999 to 2004?
No. That claim appears in some older articles and is wrong. Dern and Thornton dated from 1997 to 1999 and were reported to be engaged, but they never married.
Is Laura Dern married now?
No verified remarriage has been reported since her 2013 divorce from Harper.
The Bottom Line
Laura Dern’s husband question has a clear answer once the dates are untangled.
She married Ben Harper in 2005, had two children with him before and during the early years of that marriage, and divorced him in 2013. She was engaged to, but never married, both Jeff Goldblum and Billy Bob Thornton. She has no current husband.
