Laura Dern Breaks Silence After Mom Diane Ladd’s Passing With Touching Words: ‘My Amazing Hero’

Actress Diane Ladd, a three-time Oscar nominee known for her roles in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Wild at Heart,” and “Rambling Rose,” passed away on November 3 at age 89, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Her daughter, actress Laura Dern, remembered her mother as “my amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother.”

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“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist, and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” Dern said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Until her passing, Ladd continued to work and inspire, appearing in TV films and “Young Sheldon.” In 2023, she co-wrote Honey, Baby, Mine with Dern, a collection of their intimate conversations about life, love, and loss.

Laura Dern on Healing Through Painful Memories

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In an interview with People, Dern reflected on one of the most difficult yet transformative conversations she had with her mother while writing their book.

“I think asking Mom about my sister [who died at age 18 months after a drowning accident] and not wanting to hurt but only heal,” Dern said.

“And then talking about it was an amazing experience. It changed our relationship in the feeling that we can talk about everything now.”

Ladd agreed that confronting their shared pain was one of the hardest things she had ever done. “The worst was to talk to her about her sister’s death, which I hadn’t really done because I didn’t want to put her through that,” she explained.

“But I wasn’t doing her a favor by not sharing that—to go back there and talk about a pain that one never truly ever gets over.”

She continued, “The actuality of what it felt like and what her father and I went through. We were starving actors with no money to pull any shades down to keep the ugliness out. It was a horrendous time in our lives. Also, the divorce, which is divorce no matter how much you are friends.”

Mother & Daughter on Embracing Aging

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Both mother and daughter also reflected on what growing older meant to them. Ladd viewed aging not as a number but as a gift.

“I don’t believe in age,” she said. “How many times around the sun you’ve been does not necessarily tell you how your bones feel or how much wisdom you’ve got. Aging gives you a gift if you’re ready for it, where the blinders that you’ve worn all through life start to come off and for the first time, you begin to see there’s a big picture.”

Dern added that her mother’s perspective helped her embrace confidence later in life. “I really appreciate being raised by a mom who’s embracing it and not labeling it with years,” she shared. “I don’t think I ever even started really feeling sexy until my mid-40s.”

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She continued, “I think it takes independence and knowing what you want and what intrigues you in life to be excited by it, whether it’s sensuality or a hobby or adventure. It’s really amazing when you shed the need to prove your worth to others and [decide] to be comfortable in your own skin. Once you are, the game of life gets really fun.”

Ladd’s honesty, humor, and strength profoundly influenced her daughter’s outlook on life. Their book and conversations became a lasting tribute to their bond — one built on resilience, love, and understanding.

Through shared pain and wisdom, Laura Dern and Diane Ladd found healing together. As Dern beautifully said of her mother’s legacy, “She was my amazing hero and my profound gift.”

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