Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
This award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
The actress, with filmography spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced in a statement by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies such as Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero and my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
The start of her career included small roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke while the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow and humorous film Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she received another best supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Laura Dern.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.