Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.

The Academy Award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

This actor, with roles spanned Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed in a statement shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, noting that she was by her side as she died.

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

Beginnings and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career saw minor parts in television programs like Gunsmoke while the 1970s featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, the year 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she starred in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received an additional best supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought us to the UK for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, viewing our performance.”

The nineties included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club bringing her back with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern once more. That period also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and directed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring her and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Actually, I stand as the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.