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This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This star, whose credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who performed alongside her mother in a number of films like Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was by her side as she died.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

The start of her career saw supporting roles in television programs such as The Fugitive whereas the 1970s had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she earned another best supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.