Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
This actress, with filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced via an announcement by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero and my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw minor parts in television programs including Perry Mason whereas the seventies saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to the UK for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
That decade included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live but made a full recovery when her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
