Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at the Age of 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.
The star, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. Her passing was shared via an announcement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Dern, who starred with her mother in various films including Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero and my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in television programs like Gunsmoke while that decade saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a sitcom derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she received an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to England for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother once more. Those years also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.