Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The star, whose credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. Her passing was announced in a statement from her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was present as she died.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
The start of her career included supporting roles in TV shows including Gunsmoke while that decade had her appearing alongside Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The next year she received an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew Laura and I to England for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
That decade included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. The decade also saw her score TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She additionally penned and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
