Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
The actor, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who starred with her mom in several movies such as Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero and my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles in TV shows including Perry Mason whereas the seventies had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and humorous film Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she received an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade also saw roles in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, 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 the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I am the sole female in history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact in my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
