Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.
The actress, whose credits featured Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Dern, who starred with her mom in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Her initial acting years included minor parts in television programs including Gunsmoke whereas that decade had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a comedy program derived from her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she received another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to England for a royal premiere and a party for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern once more. That period also earned her TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence in my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
