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This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This actor, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was announced through a message shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my precious gift as a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw minor parts on television series including The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

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

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother once more. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.