Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
The actress, with filmography included Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed through a message shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was present as she died.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career featured minor parts on television series such as Perry Mason whereas the 1970s featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she received a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to the UK for a royal premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother again. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred her and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and told she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
