Diane Ladd, the acclaimed actress whose seven-decade career spanned film, television, and theater — and who shared the screen with her daughter Laura Dern in multiple projects — died Monday morning at her home in Ojai, California. She was 89.

Ladd’s death was confirmed by a representative for Dern, who shared an emotional tribute: “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Ca. 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.”

A Storied Career in Film and Television

Born Rose Diane Ladnier in Meridian, Mississippi, in 1935, Ladd’s path to stardom began far from Hollywood. She started her career as a dancer and model before making her stage debut in Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending. She moved into film and television in the early 1960s, appearing in Something Wild and the cult biker film The Wild Angels alongside her first husband, Bruce Dern.

Her breakthrough came with Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), where she played the sharp-tongued waitress Flo. The role earned her the first of three Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Critics praised her combination of grit and warmth, with New York Magazine’s Judith Crist calling it “a remarkable performance by Diane Ladd as a foul-mouthed, heart-of-gold waitress.”

Ladd earned her second Oscar nomination in 1990 for David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, where she played the volatile mother of Laura Dern’s character. With her darkly comic and unrestrained performance, she brought to life one of Lynch’s most memorable villains. The following year, she received her third nomination for Rambling Rose (1991), in which she and Dern made Academy Awards history as the only real-life mother and daughter ever nominated for acting in the same film.

Film critic Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that Ladd “brought welcome feminist bite to her role,” cementing her reputation as one of Hollywood’s most versatile supporting actresses.

From Chinatown to Christmas Vacation

Beyond her Oscar-nominated turns, Ladd’s résumé was filled with diverse and memorable performances. She appeared in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974) as Ida Sessions, a mysterious woman whose deception sparks the film’s central investigation. She played Clark Griswold’s mother in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), bringing humor and warmth to a holiday classic.

Her other notable credits included Primary Colors, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ghosts of Mississippi, and 28 Days with Sandra Bullock. On television, Ladd appeared in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Touched by an Angel, Grace Under Fire, and ER, earning three Emmy nominations across genres. She also starred in Stephen King’s 2004 miniseries Kingdom Hospital and the HBO series Enlightened (2011–2013), where she reunited once more with Dern.

In Enlightened, Ladd’s portrayal of Helen, a cautious, emotionally guarded mother, resonated deeply with audiences — and with Dern herself. The series became one of the most personal and acclaimed collaborations between mother and daughter.

A Life of Creativity and Family

Ladd’s collaborations with Laura Dern reflected their complex but loving real-life relationship. She often spoke of initially discouraging Dern from becoming an actress, warning her of the industry’s harshness. “She was only 11 years old, and I said, ‘Don’t be an actress. Be a doctor, be a lawyer,’” Ladd told CBS News in 2023. “But an actress? They care, care, care, care, care.” Dern, determined to follow in her parents’ footsteps, replied, “No. It is all I knew.”

That shared calling led to a lifetime of artistic connection. The pair co-wrote the 2023 book Honey, Baby, Mine, which chronicled their mother-daughter bond and the conversations that deepened it while walking together during Ladd’s recovery from a lung illness.

Ladd’s personal life included three marriages — first to actor Bruce Dern, with whom she shared Laura; then to William A. Shea Jr.; and finally to Robert Charles Hunter, whom she married in 1999 and who passed away earlier this year.

Her Lasting Legacy

Over her remarkable career, Diane Ladd appeared in more than 120 film and television projects, balancing fiery intensity with profound humanity in every role. Whether she was embodying a fierce waitress, a dangerous matriarch, or a compassionate grandmother, her performances carried a truth that transcended character.

Her daughter Laura Dern now carries forward her mother’s legacy — not just as a fellow Oscar-nominated actress, but as a living testament to the resilience, artistry, and empathy Ladd brought to every part of her life.

As Ladd once told Variety in a 2015 interview: “What I love most about acting is that it teaches compassion. You can’t play someone without walking in their shoes.”

With her passing, Hollywood loses one of its most soulful storytellers — but the light of her work, and the generations she inspired, will endure.