Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.
This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
The actress, whose roles included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced in a statement by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.
Her daughter, who performed alongside her mother in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with caring individual that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Breakthrough
Her initial acting years featured small roles in TV shows like Gunsmoke whereas that decade had her appearing with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, the year 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
1980s and Beyond
During the eighties, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.
During the next ten years, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.
“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”
The nineties included parts in comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.
Partnerships with Her Daughter
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.
“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
