You Won't Recognize Lex From Jurassic Park Today

It wouldn't be "Jurassic Park" without Lex Murphy, the super-smart, tech-savvy teenage computer hacker who saves the day by getting the park's phones and locks working again after they're disabled. Actor Ariana Richards was only 13 when audiences watched her battle it out with velociraptors in the Steven Spielberg movie that turned both Richards and her onscreen brother, Joseph Mazzello, into overnight stars. Everybody watched the movie, including Princess Diana, who lashed out at paparazzi at the "Jurassic Park" premiere.

While some people grow up and still look much the same, Richards doesn't look like her younger self who's been immortalized forever on film, though she is still blonde. Richards continued to act after "Jurassic Park" — even reprising her role with Mazzello in the sequel, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" — but she's since made a major career change. Richards still works in a creative filed, but she's shifted her talents into producing artwork instead.

Ariana Richards's last acting credit on her IMDb page was for reprising her role as Lex in the "Lego Jurassic World" video game back in 2015. Nowadays, she is an artist and frequently shares her artwork on her Instagram page. In a 2011 interview with Den of Geek, Richards explained, "I was painting early on, and now I'm a professional portrait artist. But during the filming of 'Jurassic Park' I was inspired to create a watercolor that I did shortly thereafter, titled 'Raptor Vision.' For me it's more difficult to put something as multifaceted as the experience of playing Lex into words, and so I decided to paint a watercolor of the 'jello' scene." She also feels that painting allows her to be like the director of a movie, creating something from her personal, unique perspective for others to enjoy.

In July 2023, Richards shared a six-panel Instagram of her "Jurassic Park" mural, which captured the classic moment when the T-rex bursts through and the "When dinosaurs ruled the earth" banner falls cinematically from the ceiling. She revealed that the painting was done with oil on canvas and measured 30x40 inches. According to the former child star's website, which notes that she is an award-winning artist who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Art and Drama and attended the Art Center College of Design, fans can request a painting directly from Richards or buy one of the pieces she's already done. 

Ariana Richards married Mark Aaron Bolton in January 2013. According to Bolton's IMDb page, he was a professional stuntman from 2009 to 2017, working on hit TV shows like "Grimm" and "Z Nation." Now, he appears to be an executive for security management, per his Instagram bio. In June 2015, the "Jurassic Park" star confirmed to People that she and Bolton were expecting a child together that November. "This is really a wonderful moment for us. It's super exciting," she enthused at the time. Richards doesn't share snapshots of her child on social media, but she did once post a photo of her then-2-year-old kid's hands holding her old Fisher Price toy.

Naturally, the actor and artist took Bolton as her date to the 25th anniversary celebration of "Jurassic Park" in 2018. Around the same time, Richards shared some then-and-now shots on Instagram of her first time riding the "Jurassic Park" ride at Universal Studios, and her most recent time with her husband. For Halloween 2021, Richards and Bolton did a couples costume of Catwoman and Bane from the "Batman" universe. Richards jokingly captioned a photo of them on Instagram: "BANE (of my existence) love you, hunny." 

Being part of a movie is kind of like high school — You and your friends are together constantly, but once you finish up, you tend to go your separate ways. That's seemingly what happened with former child stars Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello, who played a plucky brother and sister duo in "Jurassic Park" and its sequel and both grew up to be stunning. But, in March 2023, the onscreen siblings reunited in honor of the beloved dinosaur movie's 30th anniversary. "Guess who I ran into this week? It was incredible to see you again after all these years, Joe," Richards shared on Instagram alongside a shot of them posing together.

Mazzello posted a similar pic to his own Instagram account, poking fun at how things have changed between them over the years. "So this happened. Haven't seen this lovely lady since she was a foot taller than me," he quipped. Both Richards and Mazzello thanked director Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment, as well as Universal Pictures, for reconnecting them. The duo also rewatched two of their most iconic scenes together and provided commentary for the first time ever. They remembered being obsessed with how the dinosaur animatronics worked, as well as playing a lot of Monopoly during their downtime on set. 

Besides co-starring alongside Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern — the latter of whom nearly didn't get the part of Ellie Sattler — Ariana Richards' first professional acting credit was a guest role on "The Golden Girls" in 1987. When Betty White passed away, she shared a precious throwback pic of them on set on Instagram, writing, "It had an impact on me to meet you at such a young age. Thank you for the fond memories." Richards also posted a throwback photo of her with Susan Blakely, best known for her work in the miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man" and the '70s disaster movie "The Towering Inferno." 

In 2022, Richards reunited with Blakely, with whom she worked on the 1990 TV movie, "The Incident." Sharing a side-by-side photo of the duo then and now, Richards wrote, "We've been friends ever since ['The Incident']. Where does the time go??" Moreover, she worked with Kevin Bacon and Reba McEntire on another popular creature feature, "Tremors," three years before making "Jurassic Park."

Actors don't always love every movie they've ever done — just ask Michelle Pfeiffer about the one movie she really hated doing — but Ariana Richards seems to genuinely appreciate the "Jurassic Park" franchise. She proudly mentions it on her social media, incorporates her artwork into the story, and even regularly shares behind-the-scenes photos from her personal collection. In October 2024, the former child star hung out at Universal Studios and made sure to swing by the "Jurassic World" ride, which was originally the "Jurassic Park" ride, and watch the boats take the big plunge. 

Furthermore, she's a fan of the saga, happily posting about "Jurassic World Dominion," even though she didn't get to make a cameo in the film, while other legacy stars, such as Laura Dern, did. In a 2023 interview with the Radio Times, Richards couldn't help but gush about her former co-stars and director, recalling how kind Richard Attenborough was and how Jeff Goldblum was constantly making her laugh. When asked about Steven Spielberg, she sweetly replied, "He's a genius. Steven is so gifted when it comes to working with children — he made it fun, he made it feel like I wasn't being directed."