Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us aged 89.
The actor, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed via an announcement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Ladd’s early career featured minor parts on television series including Gunsmoke while that decade featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This movie that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to England for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern once more. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to discover, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
