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The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.

The star, whose filmography included Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared via an announcement by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who performed alongside her mother in several movies like Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was present as she died.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

The start of her career saw small roles in TV shows including Gunsmoke and the 1970s featured her performing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she received an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The 1990s featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

She was additionally a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

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