Walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival was a family affair for actress Laura Dern on May 20, 2026, as the Oscar winner and her kids accompanied her dad, Hollywood icon Bruce Dern, to the prestigious event.
Walking arm-in-arm with her dad, the event was a rare red carpet appearance for 89-year-old Bruce, who was there to attend the premiere of a new documentary, “Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern.” The movie chronicles the actor’s 65-year Hollywood career, per Deadline.
Laura Dern Looked So Proud of Her Dad on the Red Carpet
GettyIn a video tweeted by Deadline, the outlet said Bruce received a two-minute ovation before the movie even began. He was seen telling the audience that for him, Cannes was equivalent to “the Olympic games, and the fact that you guys accept me, to come here and watch this documentary, means that you all give a [expletive].”
The Mike Mendez-directed movie received a six-minute standing ovation for its deep look at Dern’s lifetime of work, and collaborations with other Hollywood greats like John Wayne, Elia Kazan, Lee Strasberg, Alexander Payne, Alfred Hitchcock, and Bette Davis.Â
Laura’s kids — Ellery, 24, and Jaya, 21 — whom she shares with ex-husband Ben Harper, attended the documentary screening alongside their mom and grandpa. Laura, who is featured in the film, was already working not far from Cannes, Deadline reported, as she films season four of “The White Lotus” in nearby Saint-Tropez.
Dressed in a silver gown with a shimmering, sheer wrap, Laura steadied her dad on the red carpet as he beamed, dressed in a tux and a black-and-white LA Dodgers baseball cap.
Trained at The Actor’s Studio by Elia Kazan, Bruce is known as “one of the most talented and prolific actors of his generation,” according to Film Independent. His works span from contemporary Westerns in the 1960s to classic films like “The King of Marvin Gardens” with Jack Nicholson and Ellen Burstyn, and “The Great Gatsby.”
In 2024, he appeared on “Palm Royale” as the dad of Laura’s character, marking their first onscreen project together, per People — an experience Laura described as “one of the great experiences of our life.”
She told Entertainment Weekly, “That was such a dream come true. [The production team and I] talked a lot about how I’d never worked with my dad and wouldn’t that be incredible, but it was sort of filed away. And then, it occurred to everyone at the same time.”
Laura Dern Has Made Many Appearances With Her Dad Over the Years
GettyBruce and Laura’s mom, the late actress Diane Ladd, were married from 1960 to 1969, per People. Though they went on to marry other people, they remained close until Ladd’s death in November 2025 at 89. Fifteen years earlier, Bruce, Diane, and Laura all received adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at the same time, in November 2010.
According to People, Ladd said in her acceptance speech at the time, “I ask the universe that these three stars right here â when Iâm dead and gone or if Iâm still alive â that whoever comes and looks at it or stands on it, may the energy of the three of our lives permeate into their foundation and help each and every one fulfill their destiny with joy and love, as I wish for you.”
GettyThe sight of Laura walking arm-in-arm with her dad is rare nowadays. According to HELLO!, their Cannes appearance was the first time Laura had been photographed in public with her dad and her kids in 11 years.
But there was a time when she and her dad made frequent appearances at Hollywood premieres and events.
“I definitely was raised by my mom and my grandma, but I spent a lot of time with [my dad] as I got older,” she said on the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast in 2013. “I think he kind of, as you could imagine probably, didn’t really know what to do with a small person.”
The post Laura Dern Walks Arm-in-Arm With Dad Bruce Dern, 89, for His Rare Appearance at the Cannes Film Festival appeared first on EntertainmentNow.