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This award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

This actress, with credits included Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. This announcement was revealed in a statement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with her mom in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

The start of her career featured minor parts in TV shows including Perry Mason whereas the seventies had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she received another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited us to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

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

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

She happened to be the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.