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This Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

The actress, whose roles featured Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed through a message shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

The start of her career saw small roles in TV shows including Perry Mason and that decade saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

That decade included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck that included her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

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