Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The star, with credits featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed via an announcement by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who performed alongside her mom in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Major Success
The start of her career featured supporting roles in TV shows like Perry Mason while the 1970s saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, the year 1974, she performed alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the show Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she was given a further supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which included 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 recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”
The nineties featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star with Laura Dern in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and directed the comedy Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact in my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.