Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.
This actor, with credits spanned Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared via an announcement by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
The start of her career featured minor parts on television series including Gunsmoke whereas that decade featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. Those years also saw her score TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.