Bruce Dern Breaks His Silence on the Passing of Ex-Wife Diane Ladd: “Forever Grateful to Her”

Bruce Dern is speaking out for the first time since his ex-wife Diane Ladd died at the age of 89.

In a statement to Us Weekly on Monday, Nov. 3, Dern, 89, reflected on Ladd’s life and career.

“Diane was a tremendous actress and I feel like, a bit of a ‘hidden treasure’ until she ran into David Lynch,” Dern said. “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.”

“She lived a good life,” he continued. “She saw everything the way it was. She was a great teammate to her fellow actors. She was funny, clever, gracious. But most importantly to me, she was a wonderful mother to our incredible wunderkind daughter. And for that I will be forever grateful to her.”

Ladd and Dern married in 1960 and the couple shared daughters Diane Elizabeth, who died at age eighteen months after a drowning accident, and actress Laura Dern. The couple divorced in 1969, but continued to work together on various films and television shows.

In 2010, Ladd, Bruce and Laura received adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking the first time family members have been given such a consideration on the monument.

Laura announced her mother’s passing via a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Nov. 3.

“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.,” Dern said. “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 added. “She is flying with her angels now.”

Her cause of death is currently unknown.