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

The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us 89 years old.

This actor, with roles spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. Her passing was revealed through a message shared by her child, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Her daughter, who appeared with Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart, called her “my wonderful hero plus my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.

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

Early Career and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured minor parts in television programs including Perry Mason whereas the 1970s saw her starring alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised dramatic comedy the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller the movie Black Widow and humorous film Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she received a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mother of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received an additional nod for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

The 1990s also saw roles in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and directed the comedy Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. In fact, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like a sore or something, instead use it to discover, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.