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This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

This actor, with filmography included Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed in a statement from her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films including Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, noting that she was present during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured supporting roles in television programs like The Fugitive and the 1970s featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned a further supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to the UK for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

That decade featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and helmed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.