Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
The award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.
This actor, with filmography spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was announced through a message shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies such as Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present when she passed.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw supporting roles in TV shows like Perry Mason whereas the 1970s saw her starring next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she received another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to London for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to investigate, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
