Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The star, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced in a statement from her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Dern, who appeared with her mother in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years featured small roles in television programs like The Fugitive while the 1970s saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she earned another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to the UK for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern again. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration 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 once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.
