Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us 89 years old.
This star, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was announced in a statement shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies such as Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
The start of her career included small roles in TV shows including Gunsmoke and the 1970s saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
That decade also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck 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 in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
