Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.
The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.
The star, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was shared in a statement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.
Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero and my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present during her final moments.
“She was the most wonderful mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist along with compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
Early Career and Rise to Fame
The start of her career saw small roles in television programs like Gunsmoke and the seventies had her appearing with Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
In the same year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress.
Subsequent Years
Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a sitcom inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
During the next ten years, she was given an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.
“This was the picture which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she invited Laura and I to England for a special screening and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”
The nineties featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother once more. That period also brought her TV award nominations for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel, a drama.
Collaborations with Daughter
She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.
Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon.
Filmmaking Ventures
She additionally penned and oversaw the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck which starred herself and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”
Personal Connections
Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.
During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred 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 discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.
