Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
This star, with roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was revealed via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in various films such as Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was present when she passed.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Major Success
The start of her career featured minor parts in TV shows including Perry Mason and that decade saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The 1990s featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She happened to be a family member of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
