Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at the Age of 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.
The actress, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was announced in a statement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who appeared with her mother in several movies including Wild at Heart, described her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included minor parts in television programs such as The Fugitive and the seventies had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she appeared in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she was given an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to England for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade featured performances in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She was additionally 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 advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
