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The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

The actress, with roles spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her 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 performed alongside her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero and my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was present when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured supporting roles on television series such as Gunsmoke while the 1970s had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a party for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

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

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.