Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.
The actress, with filmography featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. The news was announced in a statement from her child, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was present when she passed.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles on television series like The Fugitive while the 1970s saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to London for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
That decade featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
