🔗 Share this article

This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

The star, with credits included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero plus my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

The start of her career featured minor parts in television programs including The Fugitive and that decade featured her performing with Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.