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

The Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away 89 years old.

This actor, whose filmography featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed in a statement by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who starred with Diane Ladd in several movies like Wild at Heart, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my special gift of a mother”, stating that she was at her bedside when she passed.

“She was the greatest grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist as well as caring individual that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years saw supporting roles on television series like Gunsmoke and the 1970s saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

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

Later Decades

During the eighties, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned a further supporting actress nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she played the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This was the film that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and an event for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The nineties included parts in humorous films The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as Dern’s mother another time. The decade also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She persisted in performing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Behind the Camera

She also authored and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film which starred herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Indeed, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

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

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, instead use it to explore, to make the path clearer for yourself and others, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.