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The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

The actress, with roles spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was announced through a message from her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

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

Beginnings and Major Success

The start of her career included minor parts in television programs such as Gunsmoke while the 1970s had her appearing next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

That decade also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as the mother of Dern again. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

She also authored and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Actually, I am the sole female in history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.