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

The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away aged 89.

This actress, with filmography included Chinatown, passed away at home in Ojai, California. The news was announced through a message by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who appeared with her mother in a number of films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my incredible hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side during her final moments.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years featured supporting roles in TV shows including Gunsmoke whereas that decade featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she appeared in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she received another best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred her daughter.

“This was the film that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

That decade also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for work on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She was additionally a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.