🔗 Share this article

This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

The actor, whose filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. The news was shared through a message shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in several movies including Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career included small roles in television programs including Perry Mason while the 1970s saw her starring with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought Laura and I to England for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother again. Those years also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing with 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 satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.