Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The actress, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed in a statement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who appeared with her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in television programs including The Fugitive whereas the 1970s saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she obtained a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to England for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The nineties featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. Those years also saw her score TV award nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
