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This award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.

The actor, whose filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Beginnings and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw small roles on television series such as The Fugitive while the 1970s had her appearing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured her daughter.

“This was the film which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought Laura and I to London for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as the mother of Dern again. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

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

Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

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

During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd said.