Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.
The actress, whose filmography included Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared through a message by her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies such as Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years featured supporting roles in television programs like Gunsmoke while that decade saw her starring with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on Alice, a comedy program derived from her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she earned another Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her biological child the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.
“This was the film that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to England for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The 1990s included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother once more. Those years also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She also authored and directed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She was additionally a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.