Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
The actress, whose filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was shared via an announcement by her child, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years saw minor parts on television series including Perry Mason while that decade had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to England for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.