Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
This star, whose credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies like Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero and my special gift as a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured small roles in television programs such as Perry Mason whereas the seventies had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she was given another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to London for a premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern once more. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.
