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The Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.

The actress, whose credits featured Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared via an announcement by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in several movies like Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was present during her final moments.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

Her initial acting years featured small roles in TV shows like Perry Mason while the seventies saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

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

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a comedy program derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This was the film that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to England for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The nineties featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother again. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.