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The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us 89 years old.

This star, with credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared through a message from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Ladd’s early career included minor parts in TV shows such as The Fugitive while the seventies had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series based on her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to the UK for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

That decade also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also brought her TV award nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, 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 Connections

Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact throughout my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.