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This Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.

The actor, whose credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed via an announcement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films such as Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was present as she died.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw supporting roles in television programs like Perry Mason while the 1970s saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to England for a premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The nineties included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.