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This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

The star, whose credits featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. The news was revealed in a statement shared by her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Rise to Fame

The start of her career featured supporting roles on television series including The Fugitive and the seventies featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she earned another supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This was the film that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to London for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The nineties featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.