Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died aged 89.
This actress, whose credits spanned Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in various films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero and my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Major Success
The start of her career saw small roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive and that decade saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned a further supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
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, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Dern’s mother again. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred her and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact throughout my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
