Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.
This star, with filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was revealed through a message by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero plus my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side as she died.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included minor parts in TV shows including Perry Mason whereas the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow as well as humorous film Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she received an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew Laura and I to England for a royal premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
