🔗 Share this article

This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

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

Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.

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

Beginnings and Major Success

Ladd’s early career included small roles in TV shows like Gunsmoke and that decade featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

That decade featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She was also seen next to 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.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.