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

This actress, with roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was shared via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in a number of films like Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years saw minor parts in television programs such as The Fugitive while the seventies featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given another supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.

“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. Those years also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female in history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence on my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.