Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at 89 Years Old.

This Oscar-nominated performer Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

The star, whose filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, left this world in her residence at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was shared through a message shared by her child, award-winning actress Laura Dern, her daughter.

Dern, who starred with her mother in various films including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my profound gift of a mother”, writing that she was at her bedside as she died.

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

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years included minor parts in TV shows like Gunsmoke whereas that decade saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance brought Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. A year later she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie which included Laura Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.”

The nineties featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern again. That period also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom plus Touched by an Angel.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show the program Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

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

Writing and Directing

She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Personal Connections

Ladd was also the third cousin of the great Tennessee Williams, who she called “a major inspiration on my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for yourself and others, then you are triumphing,” Ladd remarked.