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This Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died aged 89.

This actress, whose filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was announced through a message by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in various films including Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Her initial acting years featured supporting roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason whereas that decade featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The nineties featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern again. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

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

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.