Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.
The actor, whose filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in several movies including Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my special gift being my mom”, writing that she was at her bedside when she passed.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Breakthrough
The start of her career featured minor parts in television programs such as The Fugitive while the seventies featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The next year she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.
“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
The nineties also saw roles in humorous films The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared alongside actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.
Writing and Directing
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”
Personal Life
She was additionally a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.
During 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.
