Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, celebrated for her decades-long career in film and television and beloved as the mother of actress Laura Dern, has died at the age of 89.
According to the statement obtained by PEOPLE, the Jurassic Park startled 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.”
"She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created," she added.
Dern went on to say, "We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now."
Ladd’s acclaimed career included roles in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild at Heart, and Rambling Rose, earning her three Oscar and three Emmy nominations.
Her ex-husband Bruce Dern also said, “Diane was a tremendous actress and I feel like, a bit of a ‘hidden treasure’ until she ran into David Lynch.”
He mentioned, When he cast her as Laura‘s mom in Wild at Heart it felt like the world then really understood her brilliance. She was a great value as a decades-long board member of SAG, giving a real actress’ point of view.”
“She lived a good life,” Bruce shared, adding, “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.”
Bruce and Ladd were married from 1960 to 1969 and they shared two daughters Laura and Diane, who died at 18 months after a drowning accident in 1962.
