Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
The star, with credits featured Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed via an announcement by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
The start of her career featured small roles in television programs such as The Fugitive and the 1970s had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award 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. A year later she received another nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to England for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration in my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
