Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.
This award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.
This star, whose credits included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was revealed in a statement by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in a number of films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw supporting roles on television series like Gunsmoke and the 1970s featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a television series based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited us to England for a royal premiere and an event for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
The 1990s included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother another time. That period also brought her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence in my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
