Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.

This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd has died aged 89.

This actress, with roles included Chinatown, left this world in her residence in Ojai, California. The news was announced through a message from her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies like Wild at Heart, called her “my incredible hero as well as my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was present when she passed.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist as well as caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years saw minor parts in television programs like Perry Mason and that decade had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress.

Subsequent Years

Throughout the 1980s, she starred in the dramatic film Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. The next year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to England for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

That decade also saw roles in the comedy The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Filmmaking Ventures

She additionally penned and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

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

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery after her daughter moved her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.