Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
The star, whose credits spanned Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared via an announcement by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with her mother in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years included small roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she received a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.
“This movie that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to England for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
