SO DERN GOOD!-Laura's just getting started

SHE WAS BORN TO ACT AND NOW HAS THE OSCAR TO PROVE IT!

- Judy Kean

This is the best birthday present ever,” Laura Dern declared last week as she accepted her first-ever Oscar.

Given the awards season she’s had, here’s hoping the star has cleared space on her mantelpiece too, with the Best Actress in a Supporting Role gong set to sit beside her BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards in the same category.

And these accolades are not before time. Colleagues have long praised her extraordinary talent. But it’s only in the last few years that Laura, who turned 53 on the day of the February 10 ceremony, has received recognition in the form of awards.

As her career surges, people have joked about a “Renaissance”, but those who’ve shared the screen with Laura are delighted to see her getting her moment in the spotlight because she’s so good at what she does.

Her Big Little Lies co-star Reese Witherspoon (43) recalls a scene in the show – for which Laura won an Emmy three years ago playing neurotic Renata – that showcased her skill.

“She came in crying, told a joke, had us all laughing, became hysterical, cried again and then had a dramatic, comedic exit. Just watching her do that scene was like a year of acting classes.”

Ellen DeGeneres (62) is also huge fan. Laura played alongside her in the ground-breaking 1997 episode of her Ellen TV series in which the character Ellen came out as gay. (The episode not only up-ended Ellen’s career for a while, but Laura couldn’t find work for a whole year afterward).

“She can play anything,” says Ellen. “She’s brilliant.”