Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.
The star, with roles featured Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed through a message shared by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career saw small roles on television series including Perry Mason and the 1970s featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she was given an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to England for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The 1990s included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother again. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles 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, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and helmed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
