Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us aged 89.
The actor, whose roles included Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed in a statement shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my precious gift of a mother”, writing that she was present during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
The start of her career featured supporting roles on television series including Gunsmoke while the 1970s saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she earned a further best supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought Laura and I to England for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The 1990s included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern another time. The decade also brought her TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck featuring herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence in my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.
