Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.
This Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The actor, whose filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement from her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.
Dern, who appeared with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles in television programs including Perry Mason and the 1970s featured her performing next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow as well as comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her actual daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited us to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
The nineties featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother another time. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck that included herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Connections
She happened to be a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery once her daughter moved her to another medical facility.
“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
