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This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

The star, whose filmography featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed via an announcement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who starred with her mom in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in TV shows like The Fugitive whereas that decade saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

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

“This was the film that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to the UK for a special screening and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

That decade included parts in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern another time. That period also brought her TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence on my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.