Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.

This award-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

This actress, whose roles spanned Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was revealed in a statement from her offspring, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, called her “my incredible hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside during her final moments.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist along with compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

The start of her career featured small roles in television programs like The Fugitive while the seventies saw her starring with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow as well as funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining the show Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she earned another best supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she was awarded another nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern.

“This movie that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she flew us to England for a royal premiere and a party for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The 1990s included parts in humorous films Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her more recent television parts consisted of Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and helmed the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Actually, I’m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

She was additionally the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery after her daughter moved her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.