Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actor, with roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was revealed through a message by her child, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was present when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Her initial acting years included minor parts in television programs like Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she was given an additional supporting actress nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The nineties also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She happened to be the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
