Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
The star, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was shared in a statement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who appeared with her mother in several movies like Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Major Success
Her initial acting years featured minor parts in TV shows including Perry Mason and the seventies had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given an additional supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she obtained another nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
That decade included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck that included herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
