🔗 Share this article

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

The actor, whose filmography included Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was announced in a statement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with Diane Ladd in several movies such as Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

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

Initial Roles and Major Success

Ladd’s early career featured small roles in television programs including Gunsmoke and that decade had her appearing next to Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress 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.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned another best supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

That decade featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She kept appearing with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.