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The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us 89 years old.

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

Her daughter, who starred with her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was present during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

The start of her career included minor parts in television programs including Gunsmoke while that decade featured her performing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given a further best supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern once more. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

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

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.