Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
The actress, with credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared through a message from her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films like Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Major Success
The start of her career included supporting roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she received a further supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to the UK for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. Those years also earned her TV award nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. 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 and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck that included herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
