Diane Ladd, Famed For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.

The Academy Award-nominated performer Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

The actress, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced via an announcement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero plus my profound gift as a mother”, noting that she was present as she died.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Rise to Fame

Her initial acting years saw minor parts on television series including Gunsmoke while the 1970s saw her starring with the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

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

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

During the next ten years, she earned an additional best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she acted as the mother of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. A year later she obtained an additional nod for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This was the picture that Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to England for a special screening and an event in our honor,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

The 1990s also saw roles in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother again. The decade also brought her Emmy nominations for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with her daughter in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She was also seen next to actress Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and ex-husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. In fact, I am the sole female ever who directed her former husband. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a great influence in my life”.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with lung disease and told her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“Should you harness your suffering and prevent it from festering similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.