🔗 Share this article

The Oscar-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89.

The actress, with roles featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed through a message from her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in several movies including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive while the 1970s had her appearing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she received a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, taking our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed the mother of Dern again. Those years also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing with Laura Dern in comedy drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her more recent television parts included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Actually, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left yet she recovered completely once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.