Diane Ladd, Actress and Mother of Laura Dern, Dies at 89 — After Being Told She Had Only Months to Live
The death of Laura Dern’s mother occurred more than a year after Dern talked candidly about how her mom’s condition prompted intense and emotional discussions with her.
At the age of 89, Diane Ladd, a groundbreaking actress renowned for her captivating presence and bold performances, tragically passed away.
On Monday, November 3, 2025, actor Laura Dern, her well-known daughter, confirmed the devastating news.
“She Is Flying with Her Angels Now”: A Silver Screen Legend’s Farewell
Dern made a moving message in which she paid tribute to her mother’s impact on and off screen.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and [sic] empathetic spirit that only
dreams could have seemingly created,” Dern said. “Having her was a blessing for us. She is currently
flying with her angels.
The “Jurassic Park” star focused on the love and respect that characterized their relationship rather than providing a reason for death.
A Brilliant Career Distinguished by Ingenuity, Audacity, and Sharp Humor
Throughout her illustrious career, Ladd was regarded as a performer with exceptional energy and timing,
a talented artist who transitioned between the stage, screen, and television with ease.
Her rise began even before her iconic performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here
Anymore” in 1974, which garnered her the first of three Academy Award nominations, even though many
people became familiar with her work later in life.
Ladd’s portrayal of the harsh yet vivacious waitress Flo became a symbol of her versatility, as she was
able to convey raw vulnerability, emotional depth, and scathing humor frequently all in one sentence.
She went on to play parts in “Primary Colors,” “Chinatown,” and David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart,” the latter
of which she loved most. In addition to playing alongside her daughter, Ladd was able to exercise her
creativity in the 1990 Cannes Palme d’Or-winning picture, even competing with Lynch on the character’s
concept.
She told Vulture in 2024, recalling one of their conversations, “The script stated that Marietta gets into
bed, curls up with her baby puppy, and starts sucking her thumb. ‘David, I don’t want to do that,’ I
murmured, glancing at him.
A gorgeous nightgown, a martini in hand, and a seductive sway to music that only her character could
hear were the results of a compromise that only someone of Ladd’s commitment could pull off.
“He loved it,” she recounted, “and he said OK, I did it.”
Ladd’s adaptability endured for many years. She made appearances on television in the 1920s in shows
including “Perry Mason,” “Gunsmoke,” and “The Big Valley.” She then starred in “Alice,” the spinoff of her
breakout movie, and made appearances on “ER” and “Touched by an Angel.” Her performances, which
were always based in reality, could be both touching and eerie.
Ladd’s Southern heritage and keen intuition gave each performance a unique honesty, whether she was portraying cunning moms, heartbroken lovers, or spiritual mentors.
A Prophecy Accomplished: Diane Ladd’s Hollywood Ascent and Childhood Destiny
Her great-grandmother informed her early on that she would one day stand “in front of a screen” and
“command” crowds. She was born Rose Diane Ladner in Laurel, Mississippi. Ladd lived up to that
prophecy.
She wrote about that early experience in her memoir “Spiraling Through the School of Life,” which
followed her as she transitioned from an unknown ingénue to the matriarch of one of Hollywood’s most
adored performing dynasties.
She had strong ties to the arts: Dern’s father, her first husband, is an Academy Award nominee, and she
was a second cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams. Ladd never hesitated to discuss their turbulent
personal life, which included their union and final divorce.
In 1976, she told The New York Times that neither of her first two husbands, William A. Shea, Jr., knew
how to show affection.
She entered a more stable phase with her third marriage, to writer and former PepsiCo executive Robert
Charles Hunter, which lasted from 1999 until his passing in August 2025.
Ultimately, Ladd took her last breath in the peaceful comfort of her own home.
“My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Dianne Ladd, passed with me beside her this
morning, at her home in Ojai,
Calif,” said Dern.
A glamorous, tough, and graceful career came to a quiet end in the company of love.
A Terminal Diagnosis That Changed Everything However, Ladd’s incredible journey wasn’t without its challenges.
A few years before to her death, she received a dire diagnosis, which was one of the most intimidating.
She was found to have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung condition that worsens over time and is incurable.
Given the seriousness of her health, doctors cautioned that she could only have six months to live. Dern
was devastated by the news, but it also served as the impetus for something very lovely.
“The doctor told us the one thing that can help her is getting her to walk to breathe deeper,” Dern
revealed in an open interview with People in 2023. Thus started a sequence of leisurely strolls across
Santa Monica – uncomplicated, peaceful moments that would change the lives of mother and daughter.
Healing Strolls and Sincere Conversations
So they went for a walk. Slowly. adjacent to one another. Put on some oxygen.
Dern making room.
They gradually began to open up in previously unheard-of ways. The two talked openly about their
experiences as actors, their unresolved griefs, and the losses they had never really processed during
those walks.
Everything was off limits, from the dissolution of Ladd’s marriage to Dern’s father to the passing of their first child (Dern’s late sister).
Their conversations “grew into a profound deepening” of their connection, according to the actress.
In addition to Ladd’s precarious health, Dern’s mother’s horrifying 2018 diagnosis served as a wake-up
call to the emotional distance that may exist even in the closest of relationships.
In 2023, Dern said in an interview with “Today” that “I was shocked at how little I’d asked her.
” The difficult things [but even the easy things]. Despite working with my mother, I have never inquired,
“What inspired you to pursue a career in acting?”
Ladd had been exposed to pesticides in her Ventura County neighborhood, which caused scarring on her lungs.
Instead, though, the two leaned toward one another. Their treks were uncomfortable at first, but they soon became quite healing.
“And she said that she really felt finally releasing some of the grief and challenges and heartbreak of her
life, as well as us laughing over absurd fights and silly things we’ve been through was in fact so healing,
physically and emotionally,” Dern said.
The book that immortalized the journey of a mother and daughter
Among their first subjects? Death. “‘I’m not afraid of it,’ she declared. Dern revealed, “She was scared of
abandoning me, scared of not being here to see her grandchildren grow up.”
By early 2019, Dern had begun to record their conversations, in part as an homage and in part for her
kids. The result was the book “Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and
Banana Pudding).” Despite the challenges posed by her diagnosis, Ladd persisted.
She finished two films and filmed “Young Sheldon” in 2021.
“They say they’re practicing medicine, so I’m not going to believe one doctor, I’m going to go to several,
and I’m going to keep fighting with alternative modalities and my daughter and I’s love for each other,”
Ladd had said before. “All I know is, four years later, I made two movies, a TV show, and wrote a book.”
They found that their narrative struck a chord as they told it.
“We saw that siblings and mother [sic] and fathers and sons and daughters, they were all having
conversations they’d never had,” Dern said.
The two discussed happy memories, terrible regrets, and unvarnished facts that had been hidden for a
long time.
Dern was taken aback by the clarity and healing that resulted from asking her mother to talk about
difficult topics, such as the death of her first child at the age of 18 months.
“I thought I was doing all this talking and reminiscing for my mother’s sake, to give her peace and
strength in her final months or years and to let her know how she’d shaped me and how grateful I was
for her example,” Dern wrote in her letter.
“But I would come to learn that this time with her was a gift for me as well.”
The recordings of those walks ultimately served as the basis for their book, which the two women had
co-promoted out of love.
Ladd, who was healthier at the time and is said to have been misdiagnosed, stood next to her daughter
at a book signing and said, “I chose to live.” In addition, she referred to Dern as her “angel” and
acknowledged that she had saved her life.
Even in her late 80s, Diane Ladd was radiant.
Even though those walks were sparked by uncertainty and dread, they developed into something timeless that is a monument to love, resiliency, and the therapeutic value of candor.
And it wasn’t long before the world took note once more as Ladd kept defying expectations—not just in appearance, but also in spirit.
Reese Witherspoon, another A-list celebrity, showcased her time with Ladd and Dern in a stunning Instagram carousel picture in May 2023.
Despite her illness, fans were happy to see the seasoned actress looking so beautiful at 87.
One admirer claimed that Ladd’s “porcelain” skin had always made them envious. She looked amazing
for her age, according to one person, while Ladd and Dern appeared to be sisters, according to another.
Ladd’s youthful appearance also astounded many people, who complimented her on her amazing appearance despite her approaching 90 years of age.
All things considered, admirers were captivated by the trio’s pictures.
We would like to offer Laura Dern, her family, friends, community, loved ones, and everyone who knew
and loved Ladd our deepest sympathies during this difficult time of loss. In the midst of their loss, we
wish them healing. Ladd, rest in peace.
