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

The actress, with credits featured Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared via an announcement from her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films like Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career saw small roles on television series including The Fugitive while the 1970s featured her performing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

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

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she was given an additional supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to London for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The nineties also saw roles in the comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after 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 illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.