Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us aged 89.
The actor, whose credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was revealed in a statement shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies including Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Ladd’s early career saw minor parts in TV shows including Gunsmoke and the 1970s featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to England for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The nineties included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
