Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
This Oscar-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
The star, whose roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in Ojai, California. Her passing was revealed in a statement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
The start of her career saw minor parts in TV shows like Gunsmoke while the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew me and Laura to England for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother again. 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.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead apply it to discover, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
