Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.

This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.

This actor, with roles included Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared in a statement by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who starred with her mother in various films like Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Beginnings and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career included minor parts in TV shows including Gunsmoke while the seventies saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to London for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

The 1990s included parts in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included her and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.