Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
This actress, whose filmography featured Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed in a statement by her child, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured minor parts on television series such as Perry Mason and the seventies saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the film which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to England for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade also saw roles in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
