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The award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.

This actor, whose roles spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared via an announcement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero plus my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative as well as caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured small roles on television series including Gunsmoke and the 1970s saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she was given an additional supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited me and Laura to London for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. That period also earned her TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and helmed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence in my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.