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This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

The actress, whose filmography included Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced through a message from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies such as Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was present when she passed.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured supporting roles in TV shows including Perry Mason while the seventies saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received another supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to London for a special screening and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

That decade included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother once more. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration in my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.