Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.
The actress, with filmography included Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared in a statement by her child, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies such as Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured supporting roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason and the seventies saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to England for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
That decade included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact in my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
