Ladd appeared in more than 200 movies and TV shows during an acting career spanning over six decades and earned Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose – appearing alongside Laura in the latter two flicks.
Born in Mississippi in 1935, Ladd began acting at an early age and went on to earn her first official film credit in the 1966 biker movie The Wild Angels – in which she appeared alongside her husband Bruce Dern and the late Peter Fonda.
Diane Ladd earned three Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Photo / Getty Images
Reflecting on the film, Ladd told People in 2019: “I remember when we were filming Wild Angels, my very first film, we were practically children back then.
“It was a foggy night, and some bikers came up the mountain and threatened to tie Peter and another crew member to a generator… [but] Peter and Bruce Dern protected us and led us all to safety. His courage always shined through like that.”
After starring in Martin Scorsese’s flick Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Ladd went to appear in movies including Chinatown, Black Widow, Citizen Ruth, 28 Days and Joy.
Her TV credits include Naked City, Perry Mason, ER, Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Laura Dern has announced the death of her mother, screen legend Diane Ladd, at 89. Photo / Getty Images
She also wrote several books – including 2023’s Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding) with her daughter.
Ladd was married to Dern’s father, Bruce Dern, from 1960 to 1969. The couple’s eldest daughter, Diane, died at 18 months in 1962 after a drowning accident.
Ladd then tied the knot with businessman William A. Shea jnr before they divorced in 1977 and went on to marry her third husband, Robert Charles Hunter, who died in July this year at the age of 77, in 1999.