Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.
The star, with roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced through a message from her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in various films including Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero plus my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured small roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive and that decade featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she received another supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she was awarded a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The nineties featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother again. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him on a project. In fact, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
