Diane Ladd, the acclaimed actress and mother of Laura Dern, has passed away at the age of 89.
“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.,” said Laura Dern, 58, in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Monday, Nov. 3.
“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.”
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Diane Ladd was born on November 29, 1935, in Laurel, Mississippi, as the only child of veterinarian Preston Paul Ladner and actress Mary Bernadette Ladner. From a young age, she showed a passion for acting, dancing, and singing.
She shortened her last name from Ladner when she began her career in Hollywood. Ladd appeared in numerous television shows during the 1950s and 1960s, including Naked City, Perry Mason, and Mr. Novak. She earned her first film credit in 1966’s crime drama The Wild Angels, co-starring Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, and Peter Fonda, her longtime friend and collaborator.
Reflecting on her early days, Ladd shared with PEOPLE in 2019:
“I remember when we were filming Wild Angels, my very first film, we were practically children back then. It was a foggy night, and some bikers came up the mountain and threatened to tie Peter and another crew member to a generator… [but] Peter and Bruce Dern protected us and led us all to safety. His courage always shined through like that.”
Breakthrough and Acclaim
Eight years after her film debut, Ladd starred in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 dramedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, earning her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Flo.
The film inspired the CBS spinoff Alice, which earned Ladd a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series in 1981.
Her career spanned decades, with notable roles in:
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Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
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Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
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28 Days (2000)
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Charlie’s War (2003)
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Joy (2015)
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Gigi & Nate (2022)
She also appeared in TV series like Kingdom Hospital and Chesapeake Shores.
Collaboration with Laura Dern
Despite her initial reluctance, Ladd’s daughter, Laura Dern, followed in her footsteps. They shared the screen in several films alongside Bruce Dern. Their first project together was 1990’s Wild at Heart, earning Ladd her second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
They reunited for 1991’s Rambling Rose, both receiving Academy Award nominations — Laura for Best Actress, Ladd for Best Supporting Actress. Later collaborations included Citizen Ruth (1996), Inland Empire (2006), and the HBO series Enlightened.
Personal Life and Tragedy
Ladd was married three times, including a seven-year marriage to William A. Shea, Jr. (1969–1976) and a marriage to Bruce Dern in 1960, with whom she had two daughters, Diane and Laura.
Tragically, her first daughter, Diane, died in a swimming pool accident at 18 months. Ladd reflected on the loss in a 2023 CBS interview:
“She hit her head and knocked herself out. And it all happened instantly. And she died, and you will never get over that.”
She later explained that this tragedy contributed to her divorce from Bruce Dern:
“We suffered the tragedy of our daughter’s death together and thought another child would help us, but we were so bruised,” Ladd said.
Ladd shared that this experience shaped how she raised Laura, allowing her to become a “free thinker” and develop her own path.
Legacy and Memoirs
Diane Ladd also found fulfillment as an author. She published:
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Spiraling Through the School of Life: A Mental, Physical and Spiritual Discovery (2006)
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A Bad Afternoon for a Piece of Cake (2016)
In 2023, she and Laura co-authored Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding), inspired by conversations after Ladd’s diagnosis with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2018. Laura described the process as “healing,” resulting in some of their deepest and funniest conversations together.