If, like us, you’ve watched Jurassic Park more times that you can remember, there’s still the possibility you might have missed this one significant feminist moment (especially as in the years since, the fourth film in the franchise was so roundly mocked for having its female star constantly running for her life in rather unpractical heels).

But thanks to Laura Dern, star of the 1993 box-office hit, a one-liner celebrating women has now been given the spotlight it always deserved.

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While discussing the importance of including feminist messaging within movies, the actress revealed that Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic included a subtle empowering message for women everywhere – and that it felt like a statement in such a Hollywood blockbuster of a film.

“There was a rather feminist line in response to something Jeff Goldblum says about ‘man creates dinosaurs, and dinosaurs eat man.’ Something like that,” Dern said in a recent interview with WWD.

“And then I look back and say the line, ‘Yeah – and woman inherits the earth’ and that was such a big deal. It was like here it is, we’re in this formulaic, big movie and it’s this fabulous, fun, feminist moment.”

via GIPHY

Dern, who will soon be appearing in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was keen to stress that the line hopefully means others will no longer see the film in stereotypically gendered terms.

“Then there are 12-year-old girls watching the movie and they hear that, and it’s one line. For years it was ‘Oh, well that’s more for boys, because it’s a dinosaur movie.’ and that’s what they used to say about Star Wars, and now because there are female icons in it, all the girls want to see it as much as boys.”

Read more: Caitlin Moran's guide to being a modern feminist

The Hollywood powerhouse – who’s starred in female-focused dramas such as Big Little Lies, Certain Women and Wild, has used her celebrity platform in the past to highlight women’s issues.

Writing for InStyle magazine for their September 2017 issue, Dern penned an open letter to her 12-year-old daughter Jaya Haper, sharing an emotional take on what it means to be a woman today – “a woman in her own skin, in her power, without any labels placed on her.”

In the letter, Dern goes on to highlight the struggles women have overcome previously due to societal expectations and why women should stop striving to fail. 

Images: Getty