Laura Dern Was Filming A Movie While Then-Fiancé Billy Bob Thornton Left To Wed Angelina Jolie

Jul 19, 2022

When P.P. Arnold sang “The First Cut Is The Deepest,” she may well have been singing about actress Laura Dern, whose very first engagement to fellow actor Billy Bob Thornton ended in a surprising manner.

Dern, born into Hollywood royalty to actor father Bruce Dern and actress Diane Ladd on February 10, 1967, made her first big move into the film world in 1974’s “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” opposite her mother. She would continue to make waves with the release of movies such as “Mask” and David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” but it wasn’t until 1993 with Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster “Jurassic Park” did she find widespread international fame.

While the sparks flew on the “Jurassic Park” set between Dern and co-star Jeff Goldblum, their relationship would not go the extra mile, and they called it quits in 1997. She met Thornton that same year during an appearance on the “Ellen” show, and the pair immediately hit it off. At the time, Thornton was in the midst of divorcing his fourth wife.

In 1996, Thornton also joined the ranks of the Hollywood elite after he not only wrote but directed and starred in the well-received “Sling Blade.” He won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for Best Actor with the film. He continued his upward trajectory through the rest of the 1990s with movies such as “U Turn,” “Primary Colors” and the 1998 monster hit “Armageddon.”

But it was his lead role in 1999’s “Pushing Tin” that would forever change the course of the duo’s romance.

Thornton was cast alongside Angelina Jolie, who had not yet reached the Hollywood glitterati status she is known for today. Back then, Jolie was just a rebellious 23-year-old ingénue struggling to hit the big time, while Thornton was already 44. But age was no obstacle for the two, who embarked on a whirlwind romance that culminated in a surprise wedding in May 2000.

Those of us around in the early noughties would not have missed the countless tabloid covers splashed with pictures of the couple consistently in tight embraces and eclectic interviews on the red carpet where they would admit to a host of seemingly bizarre gestures of love. News that they wore vials of each other’s blood or that Thornton would sometimes wear his wild child wife’s underwear would attract an inordinate amount of press. 

But in the midst of the media circus over the newlyweds, little mention was made of Dern, who had to find out about Thornton’s marriage through the press. She later told Talk magazine:

“I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I’ve never heard from him again.”

She added that the break was “like a sudden death. For no one has there been any closure or clarity.” The situation was made stranger still by the fact that Dern once babysat Jolie as a child. At an awards show, Dern’s father had said:

“Jon Voight's a friend of mine, so I remember Laura babysat one night for Angelina when Angelina was 2 and Laura about 8 ... because Jon and I were doing ‘Coming Home. … They were staying over at (director) Hal Ashby's house, so they asked (Laura) to come over (to watch Angelina).” 

Thornton himself has never spoken publicly about the rupture. He said in a 2001 Guardian article that: “Others may say that you left our girl and married someone else. But it made me happy and somebody else happy. I’m sorry it caused pain.”

Dern’s career would soar in the years that followed. After a starring turn in the HBO series “Enlightened” for which she earned her third Golden Globe, she won a fourth with another HBO hit “Big Little Lies.” Starring alongside Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, her turn as lady boss Renata Klein won her a new generation of fans. In 2020, she won another Golden Globe for her turn as tough-as-nails lawyer Nora Fanshaw in the Noah Baumbach movie “Marriage Story.”

Romance-wise, Dern married musician Ben Harper in December 2005, and they had two children together: son Ellery Walker and daughter Jaya.

However, the pair first filed for divorce in 2010, but the road would be rockier than expected. In 2012, it appeared a reconciliation was on the horizon, but it was not to be. The divorce was finalized in 2013. Backstage after her Golden Globe win for “Marriage Story,” Dern shared a refreshing take on divorce, saying:

“As Noah first said about the story when we first talked about it, he said ‘I want to tell a love story where endings are not failures’. And that really moved me and struck me deeply. … So to my amazing divorced parents, and my amazing stepparents, and my amazing children – who came from love despite an ending in a marriage – we’re so privileged to redefine what family looks like.”

Like all the strong single moms out there, we’re sure there’s nowhere to go but up for Dern, and we wish her all the best – onscreen and off.

What do you think of Laura Dern’s unfortunate end to her engagement to Billy Bob Thornton? Has the course of love ever taken an ill-fated turn for you? Let us know and pass this on to all the survivors of heartbreak you know!