Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.
The actress, with filmography spanned Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed through a message by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my precious gift being my mom”, noting that she was present as she died.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured minor parts in television programs like The Fugitive whereas the 1970s saw her starring next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to England for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also brought 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 kept appearing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
