Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us aged 89.
The actress, with credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared through a message by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who starred with her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured small roles on television series like The Fugitive and that decade had her appearing next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she received another best supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she received another nomination for her role 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 the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
