Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
The actress, whose roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced in a statement by her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who appeared with her mother in various films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Major Success
The start of her career featured small roles in TV shows like Gunsmoke while the 1970s saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when 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 discover, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
