Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actress, whose filmography spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was revealed via an announcement from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in several movies including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist and caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career included small roles in television programs such as Perry Mason and that decade had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she was given a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.
“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to England for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with 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, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She was additionally a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
