In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning actress admitted that she is still struggling to fully process her mother’s death.
“I just haven’t gotten there yet — I haven’t let myself be in it yet,” Dern said, describing how grief has not fully settled in.
Dern explained that her emotions feel especially overwhelming because Ladd’s passing came amid several other major losses in her life this year, including the death of filmmaker David Lynch in January 2025. Lynch, a frequent collaborator and close friend, died at age 78.
“It feels so compounded,” Dern shared, noting that the grief from multiple losses has blended together. Still, she said there is comfort in remembering what these important figures gave to the world.
“While I’m in the deep thick of it, looking at photos and watching things and trying to figure out how to honor her and honor him,” Dern said, “I feel really blessed by their legacies — by holding onto the things they’ve given us in art and in friendship and in memories, in stories and in activism, in all of it.”
Dern also described the weeks following Lynch’s death as “a very tender, heartbreaking time,” adding that emotionally, she feels she is “still just at the beginning of it.”
The actress announced her mother’s death on Nov. 3, revealing that Ladd passed away peacefully at home in Ojai, California, with Dern by her side. In a moving tribute at the time, Dern called her mother “my amazing hero” and “my profound gift.”
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” Dern wrote. “We were blessed to have her.”
Later in November, Dern honored what would have been Ladd’s 90th birthday with another heartfelt message, praising her mother’s creativity, kindness, and lifelong devotion to art and humanity.
As Dern continues to navigate her grief, her words reflect a slow, honest process — one shaped by love, memory, and deep respect for the lasting legacy her mother leaves behind.
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