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The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

The star, with roles included Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared via an announcement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who starred with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was present when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

The start of her career included small roles on television series including The Fugitive whereas the 1970s had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The next year she received an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to the UK for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The nineties also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.