Laura Dern recalled an awkward moment with her mother before leaving to film a project at age 16.
July 26, 2024, published at 6:21 PM ET
Actress Laura Dern was sent to a film set by her mother at the age of 16 with a suitcase full of condoms. RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Big little lies star, 57, remembered her actress mother Diane Laddwho, as a teenager, packed her a travel kit with contraceptives because she ‘needs to be protected’.
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Dern recalled that her mother wanted her to be “protected” when she left to film a project as a teenager.
During a performance on former cheers co-stars Ted Danson And Woody Harrelson‘S Where everyone knows your name podcast, the 57-year-old actress reflected on an unusual gift her mother gave her before she left to film a project.
Dern explained that she would be filming with an actor who was around her age – and had a bit of a flirtatious reputation – and so Ladd felt it was best to err on the side of caution in case teenage hormones took over.
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The ‘Big Little Lies’ star admitted she was blindsided when her mother packed her contraceptives.
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Dern told the podcast hosts: “So I’m going to make a movie, and I’m 16, I think. And the actor [I was going to work with] also, you know, actually my age, but already with a reputation as a young, beautiful, young movie star kid, was in that movie. So I’m packing to get ready, and my mom brings me like a Samsonite makeup case.”
Initially, the actress thought the Samsonite suitcase was full of toiletries, which made her think, “Oh my god, that’s so sweet,” before she opened it and found a completely different item inside.
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Dern admitted that, just as her mother predicted, she developed feelings for her fellow teen co-star.
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Dern laughed it off decades later, recalling the shock of opening the case and finding the surprise product.
Dern added: “And I open it up and it’s full of birth control. Like rubbers, any rubber, anything you can think of for protection. I was like, ‘Mom, I don’t have any s– yet. What are you talking about?'”
The Jurassic Park Star said her mother told her, “Well, you never know. You need to be protected. You need to be protected.”
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The actress jokingly recalled that her mother wanted her to be prepared.
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It turns out Ladd was on to something. Dern — who didn’t reveal any details about what movie she was filming at the time or who the actor was — recalled calling her mother midway through filming to let her know the young stars had feelings for each other.
The Emmy winner said of the phone conversation with her mother: “And she goes, ‘You’re not going to do it.‘ And I said, ‘Well, I’m not saying we haven’t done anything yet. I’m just saying I like him. But what are you talking about? You sent me with a suitcase full of birth control!‘”
“She says, ‘Exactly, but not the way you would usage It!'”
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While chatting with Danson and Harrelson, Dern revealed that she was later forced to leave school at UCLA to pursue her acting career.
Dern said she was “so excited” to go to college, but ultimately was only on campus for “two days” before being offered the role in David Lynch‘S Blue velvet.
Despite begging her dean for leave so she could film, she was told “absolutely not.”