Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The actor, whose roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed via an announcement by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my wonderful hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years featured supporting roles on television series such as Gunsmoke while the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her performance in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The following year she obtained another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to England for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
The 1990s included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration on my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
