Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died aged 89. Her famous daughter, Laura Dern, issued a moving tribute to her late mother who died at her home in Jokai, California on Monday.
Confirming the news in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Laura – who is most famous for starring in the Jurassic Park films and more recently in huge TV shows like Big Little Lies – said: “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Calif”.
The 58-year-old continued: “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”.
Described as being a ‘ “true member of a true show business dynasty”, Diane was a cousin of American playwright and screenwriter Tennessee Williams and a relative of musician and poet Sidney Lanier. She was married to fellow actor Bruce Dern, who is their daughter Laura’s father.
Diane rose to fame in her late 30s when she landed the role of Flo in the Martin Scorsese in the 1974 rom com film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. It was a part that would earn her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Two more Oscar nominations followed for her roles in the David Lynch directed black comedy Wild at Heart, in which she starred alongside her daughter Laura and Nicholas Cage.
She earned a third nomination for the 1991 Great Depression drama Rambling Rose, again alongside daughter Laura.
As well as her award nominated movies, Diane has also appeared on Broadway where she made her acting debut in 1968.
Prior to that she was a Copa Girl at the famed Copacabana nightclub when she was a struggling actress in New York, as well as singing in a French quartet jazz band as a student.
Other big roles include the films Chinatown and the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. While her TV work saw her win a Golden Globe for her role in the US sitcom Alice.
She also appeared in the independent 1992 comedy Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me where she starred opposite her mother Mary Lanier.
And for the first time ever, a family has been honored in that way, Diane, Bruce, and Laura have joint adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Source: Mirror
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