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This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

This actress, whose filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed through a message by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in several movies like Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero and my precious gift as a mother”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years featured supporting roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke whereas that decade had her appearing next to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

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

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received a further supporting actress nomination for her performance in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother again. The decade also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.