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This Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

The actress, whose credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed through a message by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career included supporting roles on television series like Perry Mason and the seventies had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she received a further best supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.