Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.<\/p>\n
The actor, whose credits included Alice Doesn\u2019t Live Here Anymore, Chinatown and National Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was announced in a statement shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dern, who starred with her mother in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her \u201cmy amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother\u201d, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,\u201d she wrote. We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.\u201d<\/p>\n Ladd\u2019s early career saw small roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason, The Fugitive and Gunsmoke while the 1970s saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.<\/p>\n In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese\u2019s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn\u2019t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.<\/p>\n Diane Ladd and Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn\u2019t Live Here Anymore Photograph: Warner Bros<\/p>\n In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn\u2019t Live Here Anymore.<\/p>\n In the following decade, she received another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch\u2019s Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her real-life daughter Dern\u2019s character. The following year she received another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a royal premiere and a party in our honor,\u201d Ladd said of Rambling Rose in a later interview<\/a>. \u201cAnd she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.\u201d<\/p>\n The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne\u2019s Citizen Ruth where she played Dern\u2019s mother again. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman<\/a>, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.<\/p>\n She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch\u2019s Inland Empire and Mike White\u2019s dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World\u2019s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.<\/p>\n Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.<\/p>\n Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. \u201cBruce is a great actor,\u201d she said in an interview<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I\u2019m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: \u2018I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.\u2019 But I\u2019m only kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called \u201ca great influence on my life\u201d.<\/p>\n In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.<\/p>\n