Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us 89 years old.
The star, with credits included Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced in a statement by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films like Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career saw small roles in TV shows like Perry Mason and that decade saw her starring with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given a further supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to London for a premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and oversaw the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck that included her and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She was additionally a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
