🔗 Share this article

This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

This actress, with filmography featured Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared in a statement by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with Diane Ladd in several movies like Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my profound gift as a mother”, writing that she was present when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

Ladd’s early career included small roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive while the seventies had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother again. That period also brought her TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and directed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

She happened to be the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted 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 illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.