Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actor, with credits included Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared in a statement from her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who starred with her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my profound gift as a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years saw minor parts in TV shows such as Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film 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 was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she received an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to London for a special screening and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred her and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
