Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
The actress, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed through a message shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured supporting roles in TV shows including Perry Mason whereas the 1970s had her appearing with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series based on her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she earned a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained another nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This was the film which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to England for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern again. That period also earned her TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.