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This Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This star, whose credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive while the 1970s featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given another supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she received an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited us to England for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother once more. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration in my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd said.