Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
This actress, with filmography featured Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared in a statement shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who appeared with her mom in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured small roles on television series like The Fugitive whereas the seventies saw her starring with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she earned a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she received another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought Laura and I to England for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother once more. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead apply it to explore, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
