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The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.

The actor, whose filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed through a message by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in several movies such as Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was present when she passed.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career included small roles in TV shows like Perry Mason while the 1970s saw her starring next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

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

In the following decade, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

That decade also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck that included herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She was additionally a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.