Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at 89 Years Old.

The Oscar-nominated actress the celebrated Diane Ladd passed away at the age of 89.

This star, whose roles included Chinatown, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed in a statement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor her daughter Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in various films such as Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero as well as my profound gift as a mother”, stating that she was by her side when she passed.

“She was the most wonderful daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career saw small roles in television programs like Gunsmoke while the 1970s featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

That very year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. The performance earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and appeared on the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she was given a further best supporting actress nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she obtained a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to England for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

The nineties also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom another time. Those years also brought her Emmy nominations for performances 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 alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She was also seen alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan, a drama and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Filmmaking Ventures

She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring herself and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I was honored to direct him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Family Ties

She was additionally a relative of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration on my life”.

In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery once her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.