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The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

The actress, whose filmography featured Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed through a message by her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who starred with her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero plus my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Beginnings and Major Success

Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles in TV shows including The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing next to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she was given another supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to England for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The 1990s included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

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

Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I’m the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.