Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
This Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.
The star, whose roles spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced in a statement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in various films like Wild at Heart, described her as “my wonderful hero and my precious gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side as she died.
“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career featured small roles on television series like Gunsmoke whereas the seventies featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
During that year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.
Later Decades
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she earned another supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her biological child the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.
“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to England for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”
The nineties included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother again. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Working with Laura Dern
She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
She happened to be the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence in my life”.
Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.
“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
