Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.
This actor, whose filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was shared via an announcement from her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years included supporting roles in television programs like Perry Mason whereas the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she received another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to England for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The 1990s featured performances in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern once more. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.