Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at the Age of 89.
This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us aged 89.
The actor, whose credits spanned Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced through a message shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies like Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero and my precious gift as a mother”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles on television series such as The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing next to Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The nineties included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern another time. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
