Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actor, whose filmography spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced through a message from her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who appeared with her mom in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero and my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was present during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career included minor parts in TV shows like Perry Mason while the 1970s had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. A year later she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.