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This Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

The actress, with credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in various films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years saw small roles on television series such as The Fugitive while the 1970s featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s featured performances in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck that included her and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

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 once her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.