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This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.

This actor, whose credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years included small roles on television series like Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s had her appearing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to London for a premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern another time. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck that included her and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.