Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.
The actor, with filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed through a message from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who appeared with her mother in several movies including Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Her initial acting years featured small roles in TV shows including Perry Mason while the seventies had her appearing next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received an additional best supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and directed the comedy Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
