Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.

This award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died aged 89.

The star, whose filmography featured Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced through a message from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who performed alongside her mother in various films including Wild at Heart, called her “my amazing hero plus my precious gift being my mom”, noting that she was present as she died.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, star, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw supporting roles in television programs including Gunsmoke whereas that decade featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a sitcom based on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she received an additional best supporting actress nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.”

The nineties included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother again. Those years also earned her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen next to Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

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

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck, a film which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Indeed, I am the sole female ever to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a major inspiration on my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to a different hospital.

“When you use your pain and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd expressed.