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This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

This star, with roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared via an announcement from her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero and my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

The start of her career featured minor parts in television programs like Perry Mason while the 1970s featured her performing next to Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played 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 included her daughter.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The nineties featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

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

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.