Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
The actor, with filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared via an announcement from her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who starred with her mom in various films like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative 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
The start of her career saw minor parts in TV shows like Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese praised film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she was given another best supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited us to London for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
That decade included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with 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 Emmy nominations for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health when her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
