Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.
The star, whose roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared via an announcement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Major Success
The start of her career saw supporting roles in television programs including The Fugitive and the seventies saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a sitcom inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she received another supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to London for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
That decade featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
