🔗 Share this article

The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.

The actress, with filmography included Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed via an announcement shared by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

The start of her career saw supporting roles in television programs including Perry Mason and the 1970s featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. A year later she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to London for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

She also authored and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

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

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.