Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
This star, whose filmography spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was shared via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in various films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Her initial acting years saw minor parts in television programs such as Gunsmoke whereas the seventies had her appearing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow and humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she received another Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to England for a royal premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
