Life of Jurassic Park child star now after she quit Hollywood and launched new career

It might have been 33 years since it originally premiered, but Jurassic Park remains a favourite film to many.

And regardless how new you are to watching the Steven Spielberg classic, there’s no denying that it’s absolutely iconic.

No matter what they’ve been in since, the actors from the sci-fi dinosaur film will always be well-remembered for that credit.

But while we’ve seen the likes of Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Samuel L. Jackson on our screens plenty of times since, not all the stars have stuck around in Hollywood.

Ariana Richards was a child star in 1993’s Jurassic Park, playing Lex Murphy, the granddaughter of park founder John Hammond (Richard Attenborough).

She reprised her role for the sequel, The Lost World, in 1997 but has since launched a new career.

Ariana is now a painter. (Instagram/arianarichards)

Having been easily one of the biggest child stars back in the 90s, the now 46-year-old also featured in the likes of Angus, Boy Meets World and Empty Nest.

However, as an adult, she’s primarily focused on her art career, being a painter.

In a 2013 interview, Richards explained: “I like to paint people out in locations they really enjoy doing something spontaneous.”

Most recently sharing an incredible painting of a woman beside a horse on Instagram, the former child star added: “I enjoy getting to know what people’s essence is like.”

Richards studied a B.S Degree in Fine Art and Drama at Skidmore College, graduating in 2001 and her work has been featured in art magazines.

She was one of the biggest child stars of the 90s. (Universal/Getty Images)

Back in 2023, she shared an incredible 30x40inch oil on canvas painting of a T-Rex crashing through a museum. So I guess her affiliation with dinosaurs has never quite faded in her work.

She’s also celebrated previous anniversaries of Jurassic Park on her social media and recently reunited with her on-screen brother, Joseph Mazzello, as the pair posed with a tour vehicle prop.

And in 2011, Richards said: “Being interested in acting never changes. Acting is in your blood, and of course I'll always be interested in it.”

She recently reunited with her co-star for a comic con. (arianarichards/Instagram)

That is reflected in her brief return back to Hollywood in 2013 when she played Donna Voorhees in Battledogs.

That is however her last listed film credit.

But, she did appear as Daisy in the 2024 web series Mr Snuggles.

So, maybe, while she does pursue her career as a painter, acting is never quite truly behind her – could we see her in another film one day?