Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
The actor, with credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced in a statement shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films including Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was present during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career saw small roles on television series such as Perry Mason and that decade saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she received an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to England for a royal premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. That period also brought her TV award nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.