Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
This actor, with roles featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was announced through a message by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero and my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
The start of her career included minor parts in television programs such as Perry Mason and that decade had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to the UK for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
That decade featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She additionally penned and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence on my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.
