Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.
The actress, whose filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.
Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies like Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero and my precious gift of a mother”, writing that she was present as she died.
“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Beginnings and Rise to Fame
The start of her career included small roles in television programs such as Perry Mason whereas the 1970s had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she appeared in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she received a further supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mother 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 which included her daughter.
“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and an event for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”
The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show the program Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I am the sole female in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.
“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.