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This Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.

This actress, whose filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared in a statement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side as she died.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Major Success

Her initial acting years featured minor parts on television series including The Fugitive and the seventies saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

That decade also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. The decade also earned her TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred herself and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence in my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.