Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
The actress, with filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared through a message by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films like Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Ladd’s early career saw small roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason whereas that decade had her appearing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional best supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The following year she received an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured her daughter.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother once more. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female in history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
