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

The award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

The actor, with credits spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. Her passing was revealed through a message by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who performed alongside her mom in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.

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

Beginnings and Breakthrough

The start of her career included minor parts on television series including The Fugitive whereas the seventies featured her performing with Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she was seen in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a sitcom based on her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she was given an additional best supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose that also featured her daughter.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to the UK for a royal premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd said of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

The nineties featured performances in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as the mother of Dern once more. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

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

Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely once her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd said.