Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.

The Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.

The star, with filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed via an announcement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in several movies like Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my special gift being my mom”, stating that she was present as she died.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years featured minor parts in television programs like Perry Mason while that decade saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to England for a royal premiere and an event for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, watching us perform.”

The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother once more. The decade also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck featuring her and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.