🔗 Share this article

The Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

This star, whose credits featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared in a statement shared by her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in several movies like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift as a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career saw small roles in television programs like Gunsmoke whereas the seventies had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

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

During the next ten years, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.