Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.
The Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
This actor, whose credits spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. This announcement was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who starred with her mother in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles on television series such as Gunsmoke whereas the seventies had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
In the subsequent decade, she received a further best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the film that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”
That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact throughout my life”.
During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.