Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
This actor, whose filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared via an announcement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero and my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist along with caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured small roles in television programs including Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to London for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother again. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included herself and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
