🔗 Share this article

The Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran left us at the age of 89.

This star, whose credits included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was announced via an announcement shared by her child, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films like Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero and my profound gift of a mother”, noting that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Ladd’s early career included small roles on television series including Gunsmoke whereas that decade saw her starring with actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she performed with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the parent of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose which also starred Dern.

“This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to England for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

The nineties featured performances in humorous films The Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a satirical film, featuring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother again. That period also brought her Emmy nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened. She also appeared next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Writing and Directing

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the humorous movie Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him in a film. In fact, I am the sole female ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence in my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd expressed.