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The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This star, with filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed in a statement from her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Dern, who starred with her mother in various films like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side when she passed.

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

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years included small roles in television programs like The Fugitive whereas the 1970s saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to London for a special screening and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.