Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
The actress, with credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared in a statement shared by her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side as she died.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career featured minor parts in TV shows such as Perry Mason while that decade had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she received a further supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to England for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
