Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us 89 years old.
The star, whose credits included Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed via an announcement shared by her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included small roles in TV shows including The Fugitive and the seventies featured her performing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and humorous film Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she received a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to the UK for a royal premiere and a party for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also brought her Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a film. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
