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The Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

The star, with roles spanned Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films such as Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Her initial acting years featured small roles on television series such as The Fugitive whereas the 1970s had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

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

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to England for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

That decade included parts in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. Those years also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.