Ariana Richards is going back to where it all began — returning to her Jurassic Park roots at the premiere of the latest sequel Jurassic World: Dominion, earlier this week.
Despite not reprising her former role as Lex Murphy, she did decide to appear on the red carpet, just a few days after announcing the passing of her father.
The child actor who played Lex Murphy in “Jurassic Park” has returned to the red carpet for the premiere of the new sequel, more than 25 years later.
While Ariana Richards, now 42-years-old, does not make a cameo in the new film, she still showed her support for Jurassic World Dominion .
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Richards attended the premiere just days after announcing the passing of her father on Instagram.
She took to Instagram to share a touching tribute, paired with a photo of herself, her sister, and her father at an awards ceremony, where she won an award for her role in the original Jurassic Park .
“I’m going to miss you, Dad. So very, very much. You were second to none,” she captioned the post.
“Here is a photo of me, my sister Bethany and my dad, Gary Richards, from Feb. 5, 1994 at the fifteenth annual Youth in Film awards, Sportsman’s Lodge, Studio City, Calif., where I received an award for ‘Jurassic,” she wrote .
“He used to accompany me to so many events, no matter how busy he was,” Richards shared. “I know you all deal with your own personal losses. I just wanted to share this with you.”
Since her last appearance as Lex Murphy in the 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park , Richards has taken up another career path.
While acting will always have a special place in her heart, nowadays she has a new creative passion: painting.
While speaking with Interview Magazine in 2011, she revealed that the overwhelming response and overnight fame she experienced following the release of Jurassic Park in 1993, was more than she could have anticipated.
“It’s a film that touched so many people when it came out. … It was one of those things where I just enjoyed the experience of creating the movie, and then everything that happened after, the whole landslide, was all a surprise,” she said, admitting that she wasn’t ready for it.
“I was not prepared for the fact that huge numbers of people would recognize me on a daily basis,” she added.
Even so much as eating in public unbothered became impossible.
“I mean, I couldn’t eat lunch somewhere without people lining up to talk to me,” the 42-year-old explained, adding that she still loves acting, but oil painting has become her main squeeze.
“People ask me, ‘So did you step away from acting or decide to leave the business?’ I let them know it’s not about making a choice,” she said.
“Acting is always going to be something that’s in my blood,” Richards continued .
“It’s more that my interest has been really taken by visual art and doing the oil paintings for people,” she went on, before adding that she wouldn’t be opposed to acting again if the right role came knocking.
“If some really interesting role came along and found me, I’m sure I’d be thrilled to do it,” she said.