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This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

The star, with credits included Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed in a statement from her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in several movies such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero as well as my special gift as a mother”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years included supporting roles on television series like Gunsmoke and that decade saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s 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 was awarded a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited us to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

That decade featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern once more. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health when her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.