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The award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This actress, whose roles featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. The news was announced through a message from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies such as Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

The start of her career featured small roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke and the seventies saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she received another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she received another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This movie which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited us to the UK for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

That decade featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern once more. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, 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 dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.