Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us aged 89.
The star, whose filmography spanned Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was shared in a statement by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was present when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles on television series such as The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to England for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
