Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.
The actor, with roles featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed via an announcement from her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies such as Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my profound gift as a mother”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years featured small roles on television series including Gunsmoke whereas the seventies saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Laura Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The 1990s included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she had just six months to live but made a full recovery after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
