Diane Ladd, 'Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore' star and mother of Laura Dern, dead at 89

Diane Ladd, iconic Hollywood actress and mother of Laura Dern, has died at age 89.

Dern shared a statement with The Hollywood Reporter about her mom’s passing, writing, "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,” the statement continued.

“We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Ladd had numerous movie and TV credits to her name, including “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Wild at Heart,” and “Rambling Rose,” all of which earned her Oscar-nominations in the best supporting actress category.

She also starred in the TV spinoff of “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” titled “Alice,” and had roles on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Grace Under Fire,” and “Touched by an Angel,” which netted her Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner on November 29, 1935, in Laurel, Mississippi, the only child of veterinarian Preston Paul Ladner and actress Mary Bernadette Ladner.

She shortened her named to Ladd when she started working in Hollywood and landed early roles in TV shows like “Naked City,” “Perry Mason,” and “Mr. Novak.”

Her first film role was in “The Wild Angels,” alongside Nancy Sinatra, future husband Bruce Dern, and Peter Fonda, a regular collaborator.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Dern said of his ex-wife's passing, "“Diane was a tremendous actress and I feel like a bit of a ‘hidden treasure’ until she ran into David Lynch. When he cast her as Laura‘s mom in 'Wild at Heart,' it felt like the world then really understood her brilliance."

He continued, “She lived a good life. She saw everything the way it was. She was a great teammate to her fellow actors. She was funny, clever, gracious. But most importantly to me, she was a wonderful mother to our incredible wunderkind daughter. And for that I will be forever grateful to her.”

Ladd and Dern were married from 1960 to 1969 and shared two daughters, Diane Elizabeth, who died at 18 months in a drowning accident, and acclaimed actress Laura Dern.

Initially, Ladd didn’t want her daughter to follow in her acting footsteps. Laura told People in 2018, "I think the quote of my mother's was, 'Be a lawyer, be a doctor, be a leper missionary, but don't be an actress!'"

Of course, Laura went on to have incredible success just like her famous parents. Laura and her mom have also starred in several films together, including “Wild at Heart,” “Rambling Rose, “Citizen Ruth,” and “Inland Empire,” as well as the HBO series, “Enlightened.”

After her divorce from Dern, Ladd married two more times, first to William A. Shea Jr. from 1969 to 1977, and to Robert Charles Hunter from 1999 until his death earlier this year, just three months before her own.