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This Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.

This star, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was announced through a message shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career featured minor parts on television series such as Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. A year later she received another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to the UK for a premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her more recent television parts featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I’m the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

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

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.