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This Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.

The star, whose filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. This announcement was revealed through a message by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who starred with her mom in a number of films including Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

The start of her career featured supporting roles on television series including Gunsmoke and the 1970s had her appearing next to Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned another best supporting actress nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to England for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside 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 included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.