Diane Ladd’s Cause of Death Revealed 2 Weeks After Oscar Nominee Died at 89

Diane Ladd’s cause of death has been officially confirmed. The acclaimed actress died at age 89 on Monday, Nov. 3.

A death certificate obtained on Nov. 17 lists acute on chronic hypoxic respiratory failure as the primary cause of death. Hypoxic respiratory failure occurs when the body does not receive enough oxygen in the blood and is commonly linked to underlying lung conditions, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Ladd had reportedly been dealing with interstitial lung disease for several years, and esophageal dysmotility was noted as a contributing factor. Records show she was cremated on Nov. 10.

Her daughter, Laura Dern, whom she shared with ex-husband Bruce Dern, confirmed the sad news earlier this month.

Calling her mother “my amazing hero and my profound gift,” Laura, 58, wrote in a Nov. 3 statement that Ladd “passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Calif.” She described her as “the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit,” adding, “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Ladd enjoyed a prolific career in film and television that began in the 1960s. She earned her first Academy Award nomination for her breakout role in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and won a Golden Globe for the TV adaptation Alice. She later starred alongside Laura in 1990’s Wild at Heart and 1991’s Rambling Rose, earning two additional Oscar nominations.

She was previously married to Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969 and later married Robert Charles Hunter in 1999. Hunter died earlier this year at age 77. Along with Laura, Ladd is survived by grandchildren Ellery Walker and Jaya Harper.

Bruce Dern, 89, honored his late ex-wife in a statement the day she died: “She lived a good life. She saw everything the way it was. She was a great teammate to her fellow actors. She was funny, clever, gracious.”