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

The actor, whose filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke and the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she earned a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

She additionally penned and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence in my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

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