See ‘Jurassic Park’ child star on the red carpet nearly 30 years after the 1st movie

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Lex Murphy is all grown up!

It’s been nearly 30 years since Ariana Richards played the part of the tech-savvy teen in 1993’s “Jurassic Park,” and earlier this week, the now 42-year-old stepped out on the red carpet to celebrate the latest movie in the dinosaur-filled franchise.

Ariana Richards (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic)
Ariana Richards (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic)

Richards attended the Los Angeles premiere of "Jurassic World: Dominion" Monday, a movie that unites characters from the first films with those from recent “Jurassic” sequels.

Which means actors Sam Neill (Dr. Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Dr. Ellie Sattler) and Jeff Goldblum (Dr. Ian Malcolm) join forces with Chris Pratt (Owen Grady) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing) in “Dominion.”

Ariana Richards (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
Ariana Richards (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

But despite Richards’ presence at the premiere event, Lex isn’t one of the characters back on the big screen.It seems the actor-turned-artist was simply on hand to support her former co-stars — and to enjoy the film, of course.

But watching a "Jurassic" sequel could never match starring in one.

Jurassic Park, Sam Neill, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, 1993. (Everett Collection)
Jurassic Park, Sam Neill, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, 1993. (Everett Collection)

Back in 2018, Richards, who also had a cameo in 1997's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," spoke to TODAY about how much she appreciated the experience and the friends she made on the set.

She revealed that while Goldblum made her "laugh so much," it was the film's director, Steven Spielberg, whom she became closest to.

“The biggest friendship I made was with Steven,” she said.

“I got a sweet letter from Steven recently, where he said he recognized that I seemed to feel the same level of enthusiasm that he did coming to the set every day,” she added. “He said I always ran to the set, because I was always so excited to get on camera.”

As for the new film, fans excited to see it can catch "Jurassic World: Dominion" when it opens in theaters nationwide Friday, June 10.

"Jurassic World: Dominion" is from our parent company, NBCUniversal.