Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.
This actress, whose credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced via an announcement from her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in a number of films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career featured minor parts in TV shows including The Fugitive and that decade saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This movie which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother once more. That period also earned her TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.