Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89.

The award-nominated performer Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died 89 years old.

The actress, with credits included Chinatown, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was announced in a statement by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern, her daughter.

Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in a number of films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero and my precious gift being my mom”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was an exceptional grandmother, mother, daughter, actress, artist and compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Initial Roles and Breakthrough

Ladd’s early career saw supporting roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke and the 1970s had her appearing with actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting earned Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she starred in the thriller the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a sitcom derived from her earlier movie.

In the following decade, she received a further best supporting actress nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited Laura and I to London for a premiere and a celebration in our honor,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, taking our hands, and crying, watching us perform.”

That decade also saw roles in comedy The Cemetery Club joining her again with Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a satirical film, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth where she played the mother of Dern once more. That period also earned her Emmy nominations for work on Dr Quinn, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Partnerships with Her Daughter

She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and the series by Mike White dark comedy series Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock, a star in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy.

Her later TV roles featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred herself and ex-husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a great actor,” she mentioned. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I make a joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ However, I’m joking.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also a relative of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a respiratory illness and advised she only had half a year left but she regained full health after her daughter shifted her to a new hospital.

“When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like a sore or something, rather utilize it to explore, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd said.