Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.
The actor, whose credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed in a statement shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films like Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured minor parts in TV shows including Gunsmoke whereas that decade saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured her daughter.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s featured performances in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and oversaw the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration in my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months 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 investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
