Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd left us aged 89.
This actress, whose filmography spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in several movies like Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in television programs including The Fugitive whereas the seventies had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured her daughter.
“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to England for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also earned her TV award nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck that included herself and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and informed her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
