Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.

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

The actress, with roles featured Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was revealed in a statement shared by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in several movies such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

The start of her career included small roles in TV shows like The Fugitive while the seventies saw her starring alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus humorous film Christmas Vacation and also took part in the show Alice, a television series derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she was given an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she received a further nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern.

“This was the film that Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought us to the UK for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

That decade included parts in comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom another time. The decade also earned her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in comedy drama Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Subsequent TV appearances consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Writing and Directing

She additionally penned and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact on my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to another medical facility.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, rather utilize it to discover, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.