Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died aged 89.
This actress, with credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was revealed in a statement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, 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 felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in TV shows including Gunsmoke while the seventies had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The nineties featured performances in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
