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The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.

This actress, whose filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared in a statement shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career saw small roles on television series like Perry Mason while the 1970s featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she was given a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she received an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but made a full recovery once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.