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

This star, whose filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed through a message by her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who appeared with her mom in several movies such as Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero and my precious gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke while that decade saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

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

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured her daughter.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to London for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern once more. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded 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.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, rather utilize it to discover, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd said.