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

This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.

This star, whose filmography featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. The news was announced in a statement shared by her child, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, noting that she was present as she died.

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

Initial Roles and Major Success

The start of her career featured small roles on television series such as Perry Mason whereas that decade saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

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

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the parent of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought Laura and I to England for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, and crying, seeing us act.”

The nineties also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother another time. The decade also earned her TV award nominations for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She also authored and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I’m the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She was additionally a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”.

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.