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The Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

This star, whose filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed via an announcement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

The start of her career saw supporting roles on television series such as Perry Mason whereas the seventies saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given an additional supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. A year later she received another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s also saw roles in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.