Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.
The star, whose roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced via an announcement by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies including Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero plus my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career saw small roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
That decade included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and directed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I’m the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence throughout my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
