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The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.

The actor, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed in a statement from her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero and my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was present when she passed.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw supporting roles on television series like Perry Mason and the 1970s featured her performing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she received a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

The nineties also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

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

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck that included herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised she had just six months to live but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.