Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89.

This Oscar-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away aged 89.

The star, with credits featured Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was shared in a statement by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Beginnings and Major Success

The start of her career saw small roles in television programs including Gunsmoke while the 1970s featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

During that year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy 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, a suspense story plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a sitcom derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given a further supporting actress nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The next year she obtained an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought Laura and I to London for a royal premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The 1990s featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern once more. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances featured Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and directed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence on my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.