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Oscar winner Laura Dern isn’t just one of the most respected actors of her generation — she’s also a passionate patient advocate.

Dern, whose film work includes collaborations with esteemed film directors Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, Noah Baumbach, and Martin Scorsese, was inspired by the artistic commitment of her mother, Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd. Dern and Ladd co-starred in films such as Rambling Rose, Wild at Heart, and Citizen Ruth. Yet their most important partnership happened when Ladd was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) — and Dern became her devoted caregiver.

IPF is a terminal interstitial lung disease that causes scarring and affects a patient’s ability to breathe. IPF has no known cause, and many patients don’t have symptoms in its early stages or just have vague symptoms like a dry cough or fatigue. Over time, IPF progresses as a patient’s lung tissue gets thicker.

Ladd’s journey as a patient with IPF was a difficult one. Her condition was misdiagnosed a number of times. “Most patients living with IPF, I think it’s safe to say, have been through a delayed diagnosis,” said Dern. “Once you’ve been through years of hearing, like my mother, ‘You just have a virus,’ or ‘it’s asthma,’ or, ‘it’s allergies,’ by the time you get a diagnosis which feels devastating, unknown and scary, you’re not going to let someone give you a misdiagnosis without getting a second opinion.” Indeed, that’s what Ladd opted to do — seeking multiple opinions until she found a lung specialist who gave her hope, and the treatment she needed to move forward.

Ladd passed away from IPF in November 2025 — but she has left a powerful legacy. Although she was initially given a maximum of 6 months to live, Ladd survived with the disease for 7 years, living, as her daughter describes it, “a purpose-driven life.” Ladd wrote, with Dern, the book Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding), a series of conversations about her illness and their life together. She also continued to act, and together with Dern, committed herself to raising awareness about IPF, so other patients could benefit from her experience.

Dern is continuing to inform others about the condition as Ladd very much wanted. “Literally right before she died, my mom said, ‘You keep educating people about IPF — don’t you stop!’” she recalled. “She gave me my marching orders! She always cared deeply about others being educated so they never have to feel what we felt,” she said. Dern believes that empathy from the physicians who treat IPF may sometimes be missing — but can make a huge difference in positive patient outcomes.

A Lack of Information — and Hope

When Dern and Ladd first received Ladd’s diagnosis, Dern said it was devastating. She recounted how a pulmonologist “just said, not looking at my mother, just speaking to me, ‘be gentle with her, she’ll be dead in 6 months, she has something called IPF,’” Dern said. “This doctor just showed me her x-rays and said, ‘See all that scarring? There’s nothing you can do about it.’ Even though it was a correct diagnosis, this specialist did misdiagnose her lifespan and also did not give her any kind of hope for any kind of therapy or modalities, or how to live with IPF.”

Dern was shocked. “I knew about lung cancer and emphysema, and that was it. When [she was diagnosed], I said, ‘She wasn’t a smoker, this can’t be. I don’t understand,’ and nobody was really giving any answers.”

Ladd reacted by becoming immediately proactive, she was determined to advocate for herself, and to find a doctor who would help her thrive despite her diagnosis. “That self-advocacy is what taught me about caregiving,” Dern said. “I understood that I had to change and transition my fear into advocacy, faith, and conviction for her.”

Finding Support and the Right Care

Ladd and Dern started educating themselves as best they could about IPF, but information on the internet at that time was limited. Thankfully, they found a doctor who provided invaluable answers about the disease and supported Ladd’s goals through treatment options including oxygen therapy and pulmonary rehab. Ladd and Dern also started going on regular walks to benefit Ladd’s lungs.

“We met an incredible pulmonologist who is not only an empath but a listener — he’ll spend an hour with a patient, if he needs to, to make sure they understood both the disease and the limitations around it,” Dern said. “And also, a patient’s prognosis, and the hopefulness around that. He was not only a champion in that way but also would never say no to a purpose-driven life like my mom’s. Mom wanted to do a movie, but she was concerned because she needed oxygen. He’d say, ‘Diane, why don’t you call the screenwriter and have them write in your cannula?’ And she did!”

Ladd’s positive attitude allowed her to enjoy her time fully and spend time with loved ones. “She was such a deep, excited, passionate liver of life,” said Dern.

Ladd also wanted to remain independent, which taught Dern another important caregiving lesson. “I remember the first time I tried to tie my mom’s shoe when we were on a walk. She said, ‘Don’t tie my shoe, I have to do it myself, it will expand my lungs.’ And I said, ‘No, Mom, it’s not safe! What if you run out of oxygen?’ Caregivers need more information. We limit the patient out of our own fear because we’re scared they’re ‘dying’ — instead of living with the diagnosis. Those are two very different things. I started the journey with, ‘Oh my God, my Mom’s dying,’ and she was like, ‘I’m not dying, I’m living with this disease.’”

The Doctor’s Perspective

Dern’s call for medical compassion and accurate information is shared by top specialists. “An IPF diagnosis can feel overwhelming for patients and families,” said Jamie L. Garfield, MD,

professor of thoracic medicine and surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, and volunteer spokesperson for the American Lung Association.

“Compassionate support for a patient diagnosed with IPF requires acknowledging impact and uncertainty. A physician should be clear that IPF is serious and progressive and invite questions. Also, a physician should use shared decision-making to review treatment goals, likely benefits, side effects, and what matters most to the patient.”

The difficulty many IPF patients experience in being diagnosed correctly is also important for physicians to target. “Often times, IPF can be initially seen on an x-ray and misdiagnosed as pneumonia or initially diagnosed as pneumonia,” said Rohan Mankikar, MD, a pulmonologist in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. “If the pneumonia is managed by a nonpulmonary specialist, the patient may not receive a subsequent imaging study to assess for persistence of the pneumonia (especially if the patient’s acute symptoms have already improved).”

Patient-specific care is also essential. “I also like my nonpulmonary practitioners to know that IPF is an individualized diagnosis, and it will never be a one-size-fits-all management,” added Mankikar. “The precision within IPF lies in a good history and a personalized approach. Every time an IPF patient is assessed, we should go back to the drawing board and make sure we are not missing any symptoms.”

Their Mission Continues

Dern is dedicated to carrying on Ladd’s determination to improve life for patients with IPF — and will continue to raise awareness. “My mom would not stop until the day she couldn’t go on,” Dern summed up. “That was a key to her immense success. Service was part of that; being of service is a massive part of our journey in this life. She was absolutely my teacher, and I was the most blessed daughter in the world.”

Dern reported being a spokesperson for Boehringer Ingelheim’s Beyond the Scars. Garfield and Mankikar reported having no relevant financial relationships.