Who was Diane Ladd? Three-time Oscar-nominated actress, mother of Laura Dern, dies at 89

Renowned for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild at Heart, and Rambling Rose, Hollywood actress Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89. The Veteran diva's daughter, Oscar-winning star Laura Dern, shared the news on Monday. The cause of her death hasn't been revealed yet.

Diane took her last breath at her home in Ojai, California, with her daughter by her side. "My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother passed with me beside her this morning,” PTI quoted Laura Dern. "She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist, and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created. We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now," Dern further added in the statement.

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About Diane Ladd

She was born as Rose Diane Ladner in Laurel, Mississippi, and started her acting career at a very young age. Diane was active steadily across films, television, and the stage for over five decades. However, she got her breakthrough role in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Released in 1974, her character as waitress Flo bagged her first Academy Award nomination.

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Later, Diane received two more Oscar nods for her mind-blowing performance in David Lynch’s 1990 noir Wild at Heart and the 1991 drama Rambling Rose. Interestingly, Rambling Rose became a memorable film as her daughter, Laura Dern, was also nominated for the Academy Awards, making them the first real-life mother-daughter duo to receive nominations for the same movie.

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Not just the big screen, Diane also played roles in popular series like ER, Touched by an Angel, and Alice, a sitcom inspired by the Scorsese film that first made her career. Even after the success, she continued to work in theatre and published memoirs, showcasing her talent in the field of entertainment.

A beautiful bond with her daughter

Diane Ladd often worked with Dern since her daughter was a child. The duo was seen together in Wild at Heart, Rambling Rose, and later the popular HBO series Enlightened from 2011–2013.

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In 2018, Diane opened up about having a disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis after pesticide exposure. The veteran actress was given only months to live, but she defied the prognosis, and the mother-daughter duo spent that time creating memories by walking, talking, and writing together. Their conversations were penned down in the 2023 book, Honey, Baby, Mine.

As per reports, Laura said this method allowed them to deal with grief, celebrate joy, and leave nothing unsaid. “She wasn’t afraid of death. She was afraid of leaving, of not watching her grandchildren grow, but talking about it helped her embrace every moment,” Dern said.