Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
This star, with roles included Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed in a statement by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero plus my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was present during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
The start of her career featured small roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason and the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned a further best supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Laura Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to the UK for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact in my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
