Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.
The star, whose roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced via an announcement by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films including Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles in television programs including Perry Mason while the seventies had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited me and Laura to London for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
