Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
This actress, with roles featured Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed through a message shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies including Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was present when she passed.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist as well as caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career featured minor parts on television series like Perry Mason and the seventies saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited us to England for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother once more. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and directed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
