She beat out
Helen Hunt and
Gwyneth Paltrow, among others, for the role of Dr. Ellie Sattler in
Jurassic Park (1993). This was revealed to Dern herself when she visited
Today (1952) to promote the 3D re-release of the film in 2013. The audition tapes of the other actresses were shown to Dern, to which she responded "Well, I'm a lucky girl".