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The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.

The star, with filmography spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message from her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero and my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was present when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years included small roles on television series such as The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

That decade featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.