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This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.

The actor, with filmography spanned Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed via an announcement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present during her final moments.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years featured small roles on television series such as Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought Laura and I to London for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

The nineties featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern again. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.