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The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.

The star, whose credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, stating that she was present during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Beginnings and Major Success

Her initial acting years included minor parts in TV shows like Gunsmoke while the seventies saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

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

Later Decades

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned a further supporting actress nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.