🔗 Share this article

The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.

The actor, with roles included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in various films like Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

The start of her career included supporting roles in television programs like The Fugitive and that decade featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she earned another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.