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The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us 89 years old.

The star, with roles spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message from her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Major Success

The start of her career saw small roles in television programs including Gunsmoke whereas that decade featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her biological child the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to London for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

That decade featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern another time. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

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

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.