Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.
The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old.
The actress, with filmography spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement from her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Dern, who starred with her mom in a number of films including Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift of a mother”, stating that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
Ladd’s early career included small roles on television series like Gunsmoke whereas that decade saw her starring with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Later Decades
During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.
In the following decade, she received an additional supporting actress nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
That decade featured performances in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”
Family Ties
She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact in my life”.
Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.
