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The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This actor, with credits featured Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed in a statement by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero plus my special gift as a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist as well as caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years featured small roles on television series like Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given a further supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to England for a royal premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother another time. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.