Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.
This actor, whose credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed via an announcement by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in television programs such as The Fugitive whereas the seventies had her appearing next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew me and Laura to England for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery after her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
