Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died at the age of 89.
The star, with credits spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. The news was shared in a statement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my profound gift as a mother”, stating that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years featured supporting roles on television series such as The Fugitive whereas that decade featured her performing with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she appeared in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a comedy program derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the following decade, she was given another best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”
That decade also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother another time. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and directed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead apply it to discover, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.
