Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actress, with credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced in a statement shared by her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with her mother in a number of films like Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years saw small roles in TV shows like The Fugitive whereas the 1970s had her appearing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned an additional supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
That decade also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother again. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She additionally penned and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.
