Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.
This actor, whose credits featured Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared via an announcement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero as well as my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career included minor parts in television programs like Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited us to England for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
