Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
The actress, with credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was shared through a message by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films including Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in television programs including The Fugitive and the 1970s saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to London for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern once more. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
