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The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

This actor, with credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was shared via an announcement shared by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with her mother in various films such as Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero plus my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Her initial acting years included supporting roles on television series including The Fugitive while the seventies had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow plus humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to England for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern once more. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Filmmaking Ventures

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.