Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.
The actor, whose credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was revealed via an announcement from her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who appeared with her mom in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was present when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw supporting roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke whereas that decade saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she was given another best supporting actress nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This movie that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to England for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact in my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
