The Hollywood great’s cause of death has been confirmed, two weeks after her sudden passing having sent shockwaves throughout the film world. Diane Ladd — the acclaimed actress, three-time Oscar nominee and mother of Laura Dern — died on November 3 aged 89. But the reason behind her death has now been detailed in an official certificate obtained by People, revealing she succumbed to acute on chronic hypoxic respiratory failure. This condition, according to the Cleveland Clinic, develops when the body is starved of oxygen or unable to clear carbon dioxide.
It is deemed “life-threatening” and can strike suddenly or build over time, often connected to other underlying illnesses. Diane had been battling several health issues in her later years, including interstitial lung disease and oesophageal dysmotility, the outlet reported. Her remains were cremated on November 7. Her daughter Laura Dern confirmed her mother’s death in a heartfelt statement issued the same day. “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother,” she wrote.
The Oscar winner, 58, added: “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. She is flying with her angels now.”
The pair’s bond was well-known in Hollywood. Laura famously dedicated her 2020 Academy Award win to her parents, calling them her “acting heroes” as she took home Best Supporting Actress for Marriage Story.
“Some say never meet your heroes, but I say if you’re really blessed, you get them as your parents,” she said at the ceremony. “You got game – I love you.”
In the days following Diane’s death, her ex-husband Bruce Dern — himself a two-time Oscar nominee — shared a moving tribute. “She lived a good life,” the 89-year-old told Us Weekly. “She saw everything the way it was.”
Bruce described his former wife as “funny, clever, gracious” and “a great teammate to her fellow actors.”
Most importantly, he said, she was “a wonderful mother to our incredible wunderkind daughter.”
He recalled her decades of service as a SAG board member, offering what he called “a real actress’ point of view.”
Bruce also highlighted what he believed to be Diane’s most defining moment onscreen — her iconic turn as Marietta Fortune in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart opposite a young Laura Dern.
“When he cast her as Laura’s mom in Wild at Heart it felt like the world then really understood her brilliance,” he said.
Diane’s life was also shaped by profound tragedy. In her 2023 joint memoir with Laura, Honey, Baby, Mine, she described the devastating loss of their one-year-old daughter, also called Diane in 1962 after a drowning accident.
“If you lose a child, it’s very hard to cope,” she wrote, recalling the financial struggles that kept the couple living in the same house where the accident happened.
