Who Are Laura Dern's Kids? Meet Ellery Harper and Jaya Harper

When it comes to her children, there isn’t much Laura Dern is willing to give up. Even though she is extremely dedicated to her award-winning Hollywood career, the most important thing in Laura’s life is being the mom of her two kids, Ellery Harper and Jaya Harper.

The Big Little Lies star shares her beloved children with her ex-husband, Ben Harper. The former couple got married in 2005, but after eight years, they divorced in 2013. Their split put a strain on everyone’s lives, including Laura, who has raised Ellery and Jaya all on her own.

“On good days, I am kind enough to remember that there are growing pains, and it is all overwhelming and not easy or always fun,” Laura told People about the struggles of parenthood in August 2019. “On the hard days, it’s stressful and there is too much going on as a single parent — and it can be hard to carve out a minute for yourself.”

Laura doesn’t have a partner to help raise Ellery and Jaya, so she feels “lucky” to have a group of “champions” supporting her. The Emmy winner knows she can “definitely” handle the responsibilities on her own, so she tries to not be too hard on herself when she makes a mistake as a mom.

“The more I learn about my mistakes as a mother, the deeper I enjoy how fully I love my children,” she shared with InStyle in May 2019. “Because I can let them know I really screw up sometimes. I hide from blame in a lot of areas in my life, but I’m trying not to do that as a mom.”

Being a single mother has gotten easier as Ellery and Jaya have grown up. Now that her kids are in their teen years and becoming young adults, this is the “first time” in Laura’s life that she feels the most “ambitious.”

“Raising kids gave me enough street cred to feel like I deserved the right to make money,” the Marriage Story actress explained. “This moment in my life is so sexy and freeing because I’ve had many relationships, I’ve had a marriage, I have my amazing children, so I’m not hiding who I am to get somebody who is willing to have kids or be married.”

Keep scrolling to learn more about Laura’s kids, Ellery and Jaya!

Ellery Harper

Laura and her ex-husband, Ben, welcomed their eldest child on August 21, 2001. Though Ellery has yet to follow in his mom’s acting footsteps, he currently works as a model. In 2018, he walked in Calvin Klein designer Raf Simons‘ fashion show. Most notably, he made his magazine debut on the Spring/Summer 2021 cover of ODDA, an arts and culture publication based out of New York City.

It appears Ellery has no problem with the spotlight, but when people talk about his mom’s resumé around him, the young man can be a little shy. During an interview with Town & Country in October 2019, Laura recalled the time her son was asked about Big Little Lies when he attended a summer program with other kids.

According to the actress, some teens asked her kid if he hated the series and he replied, “It’s not that. It’s just … my mom is Renata Klein.”

“He said his mom was Renata!” Laura laughed about the whole ordeal. “I was like, ‘That this happened to you around that character, of all characters.’ Poor thing.'”

Despite not wanting to discuss his mom’s iconic status as a star, Ellery and Laura share a sweet mother-son relationship. In May 2020, the actress celebrated her son’s high school graduation with a cute photo of them hugging in his cap and gown. “My boy’s day!! Happy Graduation, amazing Ellery! Class of 2020!” she penned.

In addition to modeling, Ben revealed in an August 2018 interview with Juice Magazine that his son is a skilled skateboarder. Ellery began skating when he was 6 years old. He also took a liking to going surfing as a teenager. During a 2014 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Laura revealed that her son suffered a scary accident out on the water. The youngster stepped on a stingray and was in immense pain but was able to make a full recovery.

Jaya Harper

On November 28, 2004, Laura gave birth to her beautiful daughter. Jaya has already made her TV debut despite being in her teens. According to IMDb, she’s appeared on Entertainment Tonight, and she’s also made her acting debut in the February 2021 film Teenage Emotions.

In addition to her up-and-coming showbiz career, Jaya is a passionate and outspoken advocate. Aside from her Twitter bio that reads, “It’s time to make change,” Jaya and her mom made a powerful statement at the 2019 Golden Globes. Jaya accompanied her mom on the red carpet when the Wild star wore a Time’s Up ribbon to support the #MeToo movement.

“I’m here for a film, The Tale, which is about childhood sexual abuse, which Jaya and I have talked a lot about that, and she wanted to be here tonight,” Laura told InStyle. Jaya supported the movement too by telling the New York Times, “I want my generation to not have to say, ‘Me too.'”

There’s no doubt Jaya gets her passion from her mom, and by the looks of Laura’s social media, the two share a close bond. “‘Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them,'” the Little Women star quoted while celebrating International Women’s Day 2021 with a selfie of her and Jaya.

Jaya and Laura’s relationship has only gotten stronger over the years. The pair stepped out together for lunch in November 2021. They also spent Thanksgiving together that year with Laura’s parents Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd. For her mother’s birthday on February 10, 2022, Jaya posted a cute TikTok video dancing with the Jurassic Park actress.