Diane Ladd, a celebrated American actress with a career spanning more than seven decades and over 200 film and television credits, died on Monday, November 3, 2025, at her home in Ojai, California. She was 89. Her death was confirmed in a statement by her daughter, Oscar-winning actress Laura Dern, who was by her side. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed, though Ladd had previously been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2018.

"My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning," Dern said in a statement released on Monday. "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."

A Celebrated Career

Born Rose Diane Ladner in Laurel, Mississippi, on November 29, 1935, Ladd was a cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams. Her career began in the 1950s with television work before she gained widespread recognition in film. Her breakthrough role came in 1974 as the sharp-tongued waitress Florence "Flo" Castleberry in Martin Scorsese's film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." The performance earned her a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) and her first of three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

Ladd received her subsequent Oscar nominations for her roles as the menacing mother Marietta Fortune in David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" (1990) and as a gentle Southern matriarch in "Rambling Rose" (1991). In both films, she starred alongside her daughter, Laura Dern. Their nominations for "Rambling Rose" marked the first time in Academy Awards history that a mother and daughter were nominated for the same film in the same year. On November 1, 2010, Ladd, Laura Dern, and Ladd's ex-husband Bruce Dern received adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, another first for a family.

Her extensive filmography includes roles in Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" (1974), "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989), "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), "Primary Colors" (1998), "28 Days" (2000), and "Joy" (2015). On television, she won a Golden Globe Award for her role in the sitcom "Alice" (1980-1981) and earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for guest appearances in the 1990s. She also co-starred with her daughter in the HBO series "Enlightened" (2011-2013).

Personal Life and Legacy

Ladd was married to actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969. The couple had two daughters. Their first, Diane Elizabeth Dern, died tragically in an accident in 1962 at 18 months old. Their second daughter is actress Laura Dern. Ladd later married William Shea Jr. and then Robert Charles Hunter, who passed away in July 2025.

Beyond acting, Ladd was an author, having published a memoir, "Spiraling Through the School of Life," in 2006, and a book of conversations with her daughter, "Honey, Baby, Mine," in 2023. The latter book stemmed from conversations the two had during daily walks after Ladd's lung disease diagnosis.

While there are no direct ties to Kenya, Ladd's work was part of a global cinematic culture that has been widely accessible and influential. Her performances in internationally acclaimed films ensured her a place in film history, recognized by audiences worldwide for her versatility and powerful portrayals of complex women.