Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
The actor, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. The news was shared via an announcement shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who starred with her mother in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero and my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career featured small roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive and that decade featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she received another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a royal premiere and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
The nineties included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Actually, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.