Laura Dern marked the first anniversary of her mother Diane Ladd’s death with a deeply personal tribute. The actress remembered her late mother with a cherished photograph and three words that captured their bond.
The Palm Royale star shared a vintage black-and-white portrait of Ladd on Instagram Tuesday, November 3. The date also marked one year since the Oscar-nominated actress died at home in Ojai, California, with her daughter beside her.
Laura Dern remembered her mother Diane with a photo and words
Dern, 59, captioned the photograph, “Light of my life.” The image also displayed Ladd’s birth and death dates: November 29, 1935, and November 3, 2025. Celebrity friends quickly filled the comments with messages of love. The White Lotus actress Leslie Bibb wrote, “❤️❤️❤️You @lauradern ❤️❤️❤️she was a queen.” Podcaster Cheryl Strayed added, “Your mom was so wonderful. Holding you both close in my heart, dear Laura.”
Ladd died aged 89, just weeks before her 90th birthday. Her remarkable careerearned three Oscar nominations and three Emmy nominations. Her credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the sitcom Alice, Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose. She also shared the screen with Dern in several projects, including Rambling Rose.
Dern announced her mother’s death last November in a statement obtained by the publication. “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Calif.,” she wrote. She also called Ladd “the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created.”
Hours before Tuesday’s tribute, Dern reflected on becoming her mother’s caregiver after her 2018 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis. Doctors initially gave Ladd three to six months to live. Dern said she “happily stepped into the role of caregiver” and promised to raise awareness about the progressive lung disease.
In January, Dern told PEOPLE that the diagnosis brought fear and frustration. “She never wanted anyone to have to naively be in pain without answers,” she said. Dern also pledged to continue her mother’s advocacy for families affected by interstitial lung disease.
Two months before Ladd’s death anniversary, Dern celebrated what would have been her 90th birthday. “Happy birthday to my hero, the most extraordinary person I have ever known,” she wrote on Instagram.
