Ariana Richards made her movie debut in 1987's "Into the Homeland," a made-for-cable release that starred Powers Boothe. Her most notable appearance was as Lex Murphy in the first Jurassic Park movie; she reprised the role very briefly in the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Similarly, she appeared as Mindy Sterngood in the first Tremors film and reprised her role in the second sequel Tremors 3: Back to Perfection which went straight to video.

She has been featured in other films such as Angus where she played a bulimic girl; she has also appeared on television episodes of "Empty Nest" and "Boy Meets World."

Ariana is rumored to be reappearing as Lex Murphy in Jurassic Park IV that is due out sometime in 2008.

Ariana has become a successful artist; many of her paintings are on display at the Lee Youngman Galleries in Calistoga, California.