LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Have you ever wondered where is Ariana Richards now? While some may or may not recognize Richards by her birth name, almost every movie buff can recognize her from the character she played onscreen. The 42-year-old star played the character of Lex Murphy in the 1993 blockbuster ‘Jurassic Park’, the onscreen granddaughter of the founder of the dino park, John Hammond, played by the late Richard Attenborough.

Besides making a handful of movies in the 2000s, Richards turned her back on the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. She is one of her generation's most accomplished child actresses and an extremely talented artist. While Richards may not work in acting anymore, she has not completely renounced her artistic leanings. After leaving Hollywood, she focused on a separate vocation where she is still dealing with her old frenemies — the dinosaurs.

What is Ariana Richards doing now?

Richards, who has also worked in TV miniseries like ‘Switched at Birth’, decided to pursue a career as a painter. Recently, Richards has been creating headlines because of her art. Through her Instagram, Richards has shared a magnificent 30x40 inches painting of a T-Rex. The artwork, which is clearly a nod to her time as an actress in the popular franchise, it depicts a huge T-Rex standing in the middle of a museum with its mouth wide open. The words 'When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth’ are emblazoned on a banner in the foreground of the awe-inspiring painting. She has recently shared a total of six close-up photos creating a mosaic of the picture. Her artistic talent made the painting lifelike.

After her successful stint in the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise, she has appeared in several minor roles in ‘Tremors 3’, ‘Angus’, ‘Battledogs’, among others. In her Twitter bio, Richards has described herself as “Painter, actress, mother...and I happen to be a vegetarian.” Richards has obtained her degree in Fine Arts and Drama from Skidmore. As per her website, she is inspired by masters like Monet and Degas. Apart from painting a lifelike T-Rex, her canon of work includes landscapes and portraits. Richards is married to Mark Aaron Bolton, who is known for his roles in 'Grimm' (2011) and 'Z Nation' (2014).

'It was the weirdest audition I've ever done in my life!'

Once, Richards shared the experience of her audition with the ‘Jurassic Park’ director Steven Spielberg. Talking about her audition, she said her audition was highly secretive and she was not even given a script. She shared her experience with Radio Times where she said, "The casting person just said to me, 'So, Ariana, we're going to put you on tape to share with Steven [Spielberg] and you're going to act like a dinosaur is attacking you.” She continued quoting the person, "'You just have to imagine this is happening and we want you to let loose and scream,’” before adding, "That was my entire audition, it was the weirdest audition I've ever done in my life!," as quoted in The Sun.