Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The star, whose credits featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared via an announcement shared by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in various films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was by her side during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”
Initial Roles and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included small roles in TV shows like Perry Mason and the 1970s saw her starring alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she received an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.
“This was the picture that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother again. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.
Her later TV roles included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I’m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
She was additionally a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.