Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.
The actress, with credits included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared through a message from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films such as Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero and my precious gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Major Success
Ladd’s early career featured small roles in TV shows like The Fugitive and the seventies had her appearing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she received an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
