Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at the Age of 89.
The Academy Award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
This actor, whose roles spanned National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed through a message from her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.
Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in several movies such as Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, writing that she was present during her final moments.
“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”
Initial Roles and Rise to Fame
Her initial acting years included supporting roles in television programs including Perry Mason whereas that decade featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.
That very year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus humorous film Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given another supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included her daughter.
“This was the film which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to the UK for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”
That decade featured performances in the comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother once more. Those years also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.
Working with Laura Dern
She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.
Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.
Behind the Camera
She also authored and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”
Family Ties
She was additionally a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.
In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.
“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, rather utilize it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
