Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.
The star, whose roles spanned Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies like Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included small roles in television programs including The Fugitive while the seventies saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining Alice, a television series based on her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she was given a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern another time. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence in my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
