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The award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.

The actor, with credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was announced through a message by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Beginnings and Major Success

Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles in television programs such as Perry Mason and the seventies featured her performing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow and comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to England for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother again. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She additionally penned and directed the comedy Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. In fact, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.