Laura Dern’s father, Bruce Dern, is paying tribute to his late ex-wife, Diane Ladd.

“Diane was a tremendous actress and I feel like, a bit of a ‘hidden treasure’ until she ran into David Lynch,” Bruce, 89, said in a statement to Us Weekly on Monday, November 3. “When he cast her as Laura‘s mom in Wild at Heart it felt like the world then really understood her brilliance. She was a great value as a decades-long board member of SAG, giving a real actress’ point of view.”

Earlier in the day, Laura confirmed in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that Ladd had died at her home in Ojai, California. She was 89. Her cause of death has yet to be revealed.

“She lived a good life,” Bruce shared in his statement. “She saw everything the way it was. She was a great teammate to her fellow actors.

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