Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.
This actor, with credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced in a statement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Wild at Heart, described her as “my amazing hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw supporting roles on television series like The Fugitive whereas the seventies saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also brought her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts consisted of the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
