🔗 Share this article

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

The actress, whose credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed through a message from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero plus my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured minor parts in TV shows such as Gunsmoke whereas the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she earned an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Laura Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and directed the comedy Mrs Munck that included her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.