Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
This actor, with filmography spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared through a message by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who appeared with her mom in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles in television programs such as The Fugitive while the 1970s had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared 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.
Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence in my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.
