Laura Dern is remembering her frequent collaborator and friend David Lynch on what would have been his 79th birthday. The famed director's death was announced on Thursday, Jan. 16. On Monday, Dern shared a photo with Lynch on Instagram, along with a heartfelt caption.

Laura Dern shared a heartfelt birthday message on Instagram Monday to her lifelong collaborator David Lynch, four days after news broke of his death. “Happy birthday, tidbit,” Dern wrote. “I will love and miss you every day for the rest of my life.

Naomi Watts revealed on “Live With Kelly and Mark” (via Entertainment Weekly) that she nearly quit acting before she met the late David Lynch, who cast her as the lead in 2001’s “Mulholland Drive.” The film’s critical acclaim and global success turned Watts into a star after “10 years” of “flunking auditions.

Watts said "the chips were down" and she was "desperate" for work after "10 years into flunking auditions" in Hollywood before Lynch agreed to work with her.

Naomi Watts credits the late David Lynch with saving her Hollywood career. The "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" star shared that the director — whose family announced his passing on Jan. 16 — rescued her stalled career by casting her in 2001’s Mulholland Drive.