Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.
The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.
This star, whose filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared via an announcement shared by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero as well as my special gift being my mom”, noting that she was present when she passed.
“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Major Success
Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in TV shows including The Fugitive whereas the 1970s featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
1980s and Beyond
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie.
In the subsequent decade, she was given a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to the UK for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”
That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also earned her TV award nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She additionally penned and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.
