Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.
The actor, whose filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced via an announcement by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in several movies including Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, writing that she was by her side as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years featured small roles in television programs including Perry Mason while that decade featured her performing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow and comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew us to London for a royal premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The 1990s featured performances in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Dern’s mother another time. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact throughout my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.
