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The award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.

The star, with filmography included Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared in a statement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Major Success

Her initial acting years included supporting roles in TV shows like Perry Mason whereas the seventies featured her performing with Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.