Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
The star, with credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Major Success
Her initial acting years included supporting roles in television programs including Perry Mason while that decade featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she was given another best supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.