Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.
The star, whose filmography included Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared in a statement shared by her child, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films including Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured small roles in TV shows such as Perry Mason whereas the seventies had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she received another supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to England for a royal premiere and a party for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother another time. Those years also saw her score TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
