Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
This award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
This actor, whose roles included Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared through a message by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in several movies such as Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero and my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist along with caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career saw small roles on television series such as The Fugitive and the seventies featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she received another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The next year she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
That decade included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.