🔗 Share this article

This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89.

The actress, whose filmography included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. This announcement was announced in a statement shared by her daughter, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who appeared with her mom in a number of films such as Rambling Rose, described her as “my amazing hero and my special gift of a mother”, writing that she was present as she died.

“She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Beginnings and Breakthrough

Her initial acting years saw small roles on television series such as Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama 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 as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program inspired by her earlier movie.

In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mom of her biological child Dern’s character. The following year she received another nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern.

“This was the picture which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew us to London for a special screening and an event for us,” Ladd shared regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.”

That decade featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played Dern’s mother once more. Those years also brought her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred next to Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

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

Writing and Directing

She also authored and directed the humorous movie the movie Mrs Munck which starred her and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I am the sole female in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a relative of the great Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact on my life”.

Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and advised she had just six months to live yet she recovered completely after her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to clarify the journey for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.