Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89.

The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

This actress, whose filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed in a statement shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career saw minor parts on television series including Gunsmoke and that decade saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she appeared in crime thriller the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given another supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Life

She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration in my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery once her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.