Ariana Richards: From Jurassic Park’s Lex Murphy to a New Chapter in Art and Film
For an entire generation of moviegoers, Ariana Richards will forever be remembered as Lex Murphy, the quick-thinking, fearless teenager who helped survive one of cinema’s most terrifying dinosaur encounters.
When Jurassic Park arrived in theaters in 1993, Richards was only 13 years old. Yet her performance as Lex, the granddaughter of park creator John Hammond, quickly made her one of the most recognizable young stars of the decade. In a film filled with enormous dinosaurs, groundbreaking visual effects, and some of Hollywood’s biggest names, Richards managed to create a character who felt remarkably real: frightened but resourceful, vulnerable but capable, and ultimately essential to the story.
Lex is perhaps best remembered for one of the film's most suspenseful sequences. Trapped inside the park's computer-controlled visitor center while velociraptors hunt her and her younger brother Tim, she uses her computer skills to access the park's security system. The moment turns the frightened child into an unexpected hero.
Amblin, the company behind Jurassic Park, describes Lex as a self-described computer hacker and one of the film's principal characters. The production itself became a landmark in filmmaking, combining computer-generated imagery with full-scale animatronic dinosaurs and earning Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing.
More than three decades later, however, Richards' story is no longer primarily about Hollywood.
Her journey has taken her from blockbuster movie sets to the quiet world of fine art, where painting has become the center of her professional life. And now, after years away from conventional acting, she has once again stepped in front of the microphone for a very different kind of film.
Her return comes with 25 Miles Out, a 1960s-inspired psychological horror short starring Tim Daly. Rather than appearing on screen as a traditional character, Richards contributes a haunting voice performance heard through a walkie-talkie. The project is also connected to a cause that fits naturally with her long-standing appreciation for nature: all proceeds from the film are being donated to the World Wildlife Fund.
It is an unexpected new chapter for a performer whose career has never followed the typical Hollywood path.
The Young Actress Who Became Lex Murphy
Richards began acting as a child, entering the entertainment world years before Jurassic Park. But it was Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel that transformed her career.
The original Jurassic Park follows a group of visitors who arrive at a remote island where scientists have recreated dinosaurs through genetic technology. The experiment quickly turns into a fight for survival when the prehistoric creatures escape containment. The film starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Joseph Mazzello, Wayne Knight, Samuel L. Jackson and Richards.
Richards played Lex Murphy, while Joseph Mazzello played her younger brother Tim. The two child actors were central to some of the movie's most memorable sequences.
For Richards, working on such an ambitious production at such a young age was an extraordinary experience. Years later, she recalled her time on the set in an interview with Amblin, describing the fun she and Mazzello had while filming and their enthusiasm for exploring the production and attempting their own stunts whenever they were allowed.
Her relationship with Sam Neill was particularly meaningful.
Neill played Dr. Alan Grant, the paleontologist who becomes responsible for Lex and Tim after the park descends into chaos. Richards later remembered him as calm and steady, describing him as someone who did not seem easily rattled even during demanding scenes.
One story she shared involved filming the sequence at the T. rex paddock. Richards misunderstood the choreography of a stunt and believed the scene would continue farther than it actually did. The anecdote gives a glimpse into how unusual the experience must have been for a young performer working on one of the most technically ambitious films of its era.
But the biggest surprise was what Richards did after the movie became a global phenomenon.
Rather than pursuing Hollywood fame at all costs, she gradually moved toward another creative discipline.
From Hollywood to the Painter's Studio
Richards' transition from acting to painting is one of the more unusual career stories to emerge from the Jurassic Park generation.
While she was still acting, she was already interested in art. According to her biographical material, Richards studied drama and art at Skidmore College and graduated with honors. Her work developed into a professional fine-art career, with a focus that has included portraits, landscapes and nature-inspired imagery.
Her interest in painting was not simply a hobby she picked up after leaving Hollywood. It had been present during her childhood.
One especially memorable example came during the production of Jurassic Park. Richards painted a watercolor featuring herself, Joseph Mazzello and a Brachiosaurus and gave it to Steven Spielberg. The story has become part of the fascinating connection between her two creative identities: actress and artist.
She even created artwork inspired by the film's famous kitchen sequence, in which Lex and Tim are stalked by velociraptors.
In other words, the girl who became famous for playing Lex Murphy was already expressing herself through visual art while the world was getting to know her as an actress.
That makes her later career transition feel less like an abrupt departure and more like a return to another part of herself.
Richards has explained that her decision to concentrate on visual art was driven by her growing passion for painting. In an interview cited by Hollywood Life, she emphasized that acting remained something she carried with her, but her interests had increasingly shifted toward visual art and creating oil paintings.
Her career therefore offers an alternative vision of what success can look like.
For some actors, success means appearing in more movies, gaining larger roles and remaining constantly visible. For Richards, success eventually meant having the freedom to create away from the pressures of the entertainment industry.
A Career That Never Completely Lost Its Connection to Jurassic Park
Although Richards stepped away from mainstream acting, she never completely abandoned the world that made her famous.
The Jurassic Park franchise continued to grow for decades, eventually becoming a vast cinematic universe through the Jurassic World films.
Richards attended the premiere of Jurassic World Dominion in 2022, demonstrating that her connection to the franchise remained strong even though she was no longer an active member of its current cast. Reports at the time noted that she had become a painter and had stepped away from acting.
Her presence at franchise events is significant because Lex Murphy remains one of the most beloved young characters from the original movie.
For fans who grew up with Jurassic Park, seeing Richards again is more than simply seeing a former child actor. It is an opportunity to reconnect with a piece of their own cinematic childhood.