Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
This award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.
The actor, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced via an announcement shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was present when she passed.
“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Her initial acting years saw small roles in TV shows like Perry Mason and the seventies featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she was given an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to London for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
