Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
This actor, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced via an announcement shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero and my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured minor parts on television series like Perry Mason whereas the 1970s saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she received another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she received another 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 flew me and Laura to England for a special screening and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
The 1990s featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck that included herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact in my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter moved 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 winning,” Ladd said.
