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The Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.

The star, with credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed via an announcement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero plus my precious gift as a mother”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke while the seventies had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given another supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The 1990s included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.