Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
This actress, whose filmography spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was announced through a message shared by her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw minor parts in television programs like Perry Mason while the 1970s had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she was given another supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock 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 the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
