Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 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 California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in several movies including Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured small roles on television series like Perry Mason whereas the seventies had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she received an additional best supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she received another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
That decade also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom again. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
