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This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.

This actress, with roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed through a message by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in several movies such as Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero and my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side as she died.

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

Early Career and Major Success

The start of her career included small roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke while that decade saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she starred in the thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she received another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. The decade also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.