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This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

The actor, with credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was announced via an announcement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in several movies like Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero plus my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Her initial acting years included supporting roles on television series such as The Fugitive whereas the seventies saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she starred in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she received an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she was awarded another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew Laura and I to England for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

That decade included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern another time. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, 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.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, rather utilize it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.