🔗 Share this article

The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.

This actor, whose credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared via an announcement by her child, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was present as she died.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

Ladd’s early career saw small roles in TV shows like The Fugitive whereas that decade featured her performing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film 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 her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The nineties featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.