Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.
The actor, with credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared via an announcement shared by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
The start of her career included small roles in television programs including The Fugitive and the 1970s featured her performing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program derived from her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited us to London for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. 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.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
