Hollywood legend Bruce Dern is paying tribute to his ex-wife, Diane Ladd. Ladd, who wed Dern in 1960, passed away on Monday at 89.
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They share a daughter, Laura Dern, who announced Ladd’s passing. The couple divorced in 1969.
“Diane was a tremendous actress,” Dern, 89, said in a statement shared by PEOPLE.
Dern said the late actress was “a bit of a ‘hidden treasure’ until she ran into David Lynch. When he cast her as Laura’s mom in Wild at Heart, “the world then really understood her brilliance.”
Ladd starred alongside her daughter, now 58, in Lynch’s 1990 film, portraying a mother-daughter duo at odds. They later co-starred in another Lynch project, the 2006 experimental film Inland Empire, and 1991’s Rambling Rose. Ladd earned Oscar nominations for her supporting roles in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Wild at Heart, and Rambling Rose.
“She was a great value as a decades-long board member of [SAG-AFTRA], giving a real actress’ point of view,” Bruce Dern continued. “She lived a good life, 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,” the Silent Running actor concluded.
Diane Ladd Met Bruce Dern While Working in a Play in NYC
Bruce Dern, Ladd’s first of three husbands, met her early in their careers while performing in Orpheus Descending in New York City. Besides Laura, they had another daughter, Diane, who tragically died at 18 months old in a swimming pool accident, according to PEOPLE. The actors separated two months after Laura was born in 1967.
As she became a Hollywood star in her own right, Laura remained close to both of her parents. When she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Marriage Story in 2020, she praised them both in her acceptance speech.
“Some say ‘never meet your heroes’ but I say if you’re really blessed, you get them as your parents,” the Little Women star said. “I share this with my acting heroes, my legends, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern.”
After appearing with Laura in three episodes of the Apple TV+ comedy Palm Royale, Bruce Dern is set to star in the upcoming films All Day Happy Dance and Fractured.