Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
This actor, with credits featured Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films like Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was present as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
The start of her career included supporting roles on television series including Gunsmoke while the 1970s saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to England for a premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The nineties included parts in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother another time. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included her and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” 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 say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
