Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.
The actor, whose filmography included Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared in a statement by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in various films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was present as she died.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason whereas the 1970s had her appearing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she was given a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she received another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to London for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The nineties featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern another time. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck which starred herself and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.