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This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

The star, with filmography featured Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared in a statement by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who appeared with her mom in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years featured minor parts in television programs such as Perry Mason and the seventies featured her performing with Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program derived from her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she received another Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Laura Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to England for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern once more. Those years also saw her score TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.