Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.
The star, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message from her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
The start of her career included minor parts in television programs such as Perry Mason and that decade had her appearing next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned another supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and directed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
