Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
This actress, with credits included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in Ojai, California. The news was announced in a statement from her child, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.
Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films like Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift of a mother”, stating that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative and empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles in TV shows including Perry Mason and that decade saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received another supporting actress nomination for her part in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a party for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.