Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
The actress, whose roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced via an announcement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mother in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career included small roles on television series such as Perry Mason while the seventies featured her performing with Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a comedy program derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she received another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.
“This was the film which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s included parts in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
