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The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

This star, whose credits featured Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared in a statement from her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero and my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles on television series such as Gunsmoke whereas the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow and humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received a further best supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

She was additionally a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and told she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead apply it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.