Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
The star, whose roles spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared in a statement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who performed alongside her mom in several movies including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was present as she died.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
The start of her career included small roles in TV shows such as Gunsmoke and that decade featured her performing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This movie that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to the UK for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
The nineties included parts in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also brought her TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
She was additionally a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.
