Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
This actress, whose roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced via an announcement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in TV shows like Perry Mason while the seventies featured her performing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she received an additional best supporting actress nomination for her role in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
The 1990s featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern again. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
