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The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.

This actress, with filmography included Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed via an announcement from her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw small roles in TV shows including The Fugitive while the seventies saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

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

Later Decades

During the eighties, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned a further supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to the UK for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

That decade included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother again. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

She happened to be a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.