Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actress, whose credits included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced via an announcement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Her initial acting years saw small roles on television series including The Fugitive and the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus humorous film Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern once more. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and directed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, 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 in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.
