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This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died aged 89.

This actor, whose filmography spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed via an announcement shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with her mother in various films such as Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, 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.”

Beginnings and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years saw small roles in television programs like The Fugitive and the 1970s saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s included parts in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother another time. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

She was additionally the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.