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This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.

The actress, with filmography featured Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed in a statement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years featured minor parts in TV shows like Perry Mason and that decade saw her starring next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This was the film that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also earned her TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She was additionally the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.