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This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died aged 89.

The star, whose credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed in a statement shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present when she passed.

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

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured minor parts on television series such as Perry Mason while the seventies had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given an additional supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

The 1990s included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother again. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.