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This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.

The actor, whose credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed in a statement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in a number of films like Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present as she died.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years featured small roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke and that decade featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. The following year she received an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother again. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

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

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.