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This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

This actor, whose filmography featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed through a message from her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured small roles in television programs such as Perry Mason while the 1970s saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.