Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at Age 89.

This award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd left us aged 89.

This actor, with filmography included Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared in a statement by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mom in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist along with empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career saw small roles in television programs including Perry Mason whereas that decade featured her performing next to actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a sitcom inspired by her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she received an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a special screening and a celebration dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

The 1990s included parts in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern once more. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and directed the comedy Mrs Munck featuring her and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a film. In fact, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She was additionally a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.