Bruce Dern will be "forever grateful" to his "wonderful" ex-wife Diane Ladd following her death

In a statement released to Us Weekly, Bruce said: "Diane was a tremendous actress and I feel like, a bit of a 'hidden treasure' until she ran into David Lynch.

'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. 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."

The pair were married between 1960 and 1969. As well as Laura, they were also parents to another daughter, Diane, who drowned aged 18 months in 1962.

Announcing news of her mother's death, Jurassic Park star Laura said in a statement: "My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Ca.

"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 is flying with her angels now."

Laura previously opened up about her mother's impact on her life in a podcast interview which was recorded two weeks before Diane's death.

During an appearance on the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Laura insisted her mom's Oscar-nominated turn in 1974 movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore remains one of her favourites. She said: "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is one of my favorite all-time performances by an actress."

Laura also recalled accompanying her mother to the Oscars after she received the nomination, saying: "I was seven and scared.

"It's so loud - people are yelling and excited, but when you're seven, noise is scary. There are pictures of my mom looking very glamorous and smiling for the cameras on the red carpet, and you can see my clenched fists digging into her arm.

"I had big Coke-bottle eyeglasses and just looked really nervous."

She added of Diane: "My mom taught me to lead with empathy and purpose. That's what keeps me in love with storytelling."