Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.
This actor, with roles included Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed through a message from her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films including Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero and my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side as she died.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles on television series including Perry Mason and the seventies saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to England for a premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother once more. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck that included herself and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to discover, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
