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This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

The actress, whose credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared in a statement shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Dern, who starred with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured small roles in television programs like Gunsmoke while the 1970s saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.

“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to England for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern again. Those years also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

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

Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.