🔗 Share this article

The Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.

This star, with roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed through a message from her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.

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

Early Career and Major Success

The start of her career featured small roles on television series like The Fugitive whereas the 1970s saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the classic 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. Her acting earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given an additional best supporting actress nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to England for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother again. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.