Diane Ladd He had a close bond with his family before his death in November 2025.
The Oscar-nominated actress made history with her ex-husband Bruce Dern and daughter Laura Dern in 2010, when the family became the first to be presented with adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“I ask the universe that these three stars right here, when I’m dead and gone or if I’m still alive, that whoever comes and looks at it or stands up to it, that the energy of our lives permeates its foundations and helps each and every one fulfill their destiny with joy and love, as I wish for you,” Ladd said during his acceptance speech. people.
News came out Ladd died at the age of 89 in November 2025. A cause of death was not immediately shared.
“My incredible hero and profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed by my side this morning at her home in Ojai, California,” Laura wrote in a statement. The Hollywood Reporter at that time. “She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created. We were lucky to have her. Now she is flying with her angels.”
Scroll down to learn more about the Ladd family:
Bruce Dern
Ladd was married to Bruce from 1960 to 1969. The couple were the parents of a late daughter, Diane, and a surviving daughter, Laura.
“If you lose a child, it’s very difficult to cope,” Ladd shared in the book Darling, baby, mywhile discussing their divorce. “We were struggling actors. We could barely make it. We had to stay in the same house where she died because we couldn’t afford to leave. Her family could have helped us, but they didn’t.”
Years later, Bruce mourned Ladd’s death in a statement shared with Us Weekly. “She lived a good life,” Bruce said in November 2025. “She saw everything for what it was. She was a great teammate to her fellow actors. She was funny, smart, kind. But most importantly to me, she was a wonderful mother to our amazing, wonderful daughter. And for that I will be forever grateful.”
Diane Dern
Ladd and Bruce became parents when they welcomed daughter Diane, who died at 18 months after a drowning accident in 1962.
“He fell in the pool. He hit his head and he was knocked out. And it all happened instantly. And he died, and you never get over that,” Ladd told CBS News in 2023.
Laura Dern
After Diane’s death, Ladd and Bruce welcomed daughter Laura, who followed in her mother’s footsteps. The mother-daughter duo shared a close bond over the years, including when Ladd was given six months to live in 2019 after a health scare with her lungs. While walking with Ladd to help her recover, Laura began recording these conversations for her own children to hear. (Laura shares children Ellery and Jaya with ex-husband Ben Harper.)
“I was surprised at how little I had asked,” Laura said. “The hard stuff, because I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t want to talk about it and hurt her.’ But even the simple stuff. I’ve been raised by an actor, I’ve worked alongside my mom, and yet I’ve never asked myself, ‘Why did you want to be an actress?’ … What was the first movie that inspired you? What’s your favorite color?”
Ladd and Laura launched their book, Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk About Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding)in 2023.
William A. Shea Jr.
Ladd continued with Shea Jr. after her split from Bruce. The actress was married to Shear Jr. from 1969 to 1976.
Robert Charles Hunter
Ladd married the former CEO of PepsiCo Food Systems in 1999. The couple co-founded Exxcell Entertainment that same year, collaborating seven years later on Inland Empire. The 2006 film also featured Laura.
Hunter’s family shared in August 2025 that Hunter died in Fort Worth, Texas, while visiting his children. He was 77 and survived by Ladd, Laura and their children Brandon, Amy and Emily.
while tribute to Hunterhis family explained that the 2008 novel Curious journey: Origins and from 2011 Curious journey: Energy “he took advantage of his intelligence and curiosity about the world.”
“Robert always loved Texas,” the statement read The Hollywood Reporter. “The wide skies, bold spirit, and warmth of Fort Worth were part of her soul. Coming home brought her peace and joy, a feeling she often described as ‘coming back to the beat of my heart.’