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This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.

This actress, whose roles spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was shared in a statement from her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero plus my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was present when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke while the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she received a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought us to London for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The 1990s included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She happened to be the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.