Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at 89 Years Old.

This award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran has died aged 89.

The actor, whose credits featured Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed in a statement by her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern.

Laura Dern, who performed alongside her mother in a number of films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero and my precious gift being my mom”, stating that she was at her bedside as she died.

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is now with the angels.”

Initial Roles and Major Success

Ladd’s early career included supporting roles in TV shows like The Fugitive whereas the seventies had her appearing alongside actor Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown.

In the same year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Later Decades

In the 1980s, she starred in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the following decade, she earned a further supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she was awarded a further nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred her daughter.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a royal premiere and a party dedicated to us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

The 1990s featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Dern’s mother again. That period also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel.

Collaborations with Daughter

She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

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

Behind the Camera

She also authored and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a great actor,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him in a film. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Life

Ladd was also a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration throughout my life”.

Back in 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but she regained full health when her daughter shifted her to another medical facility.

“If you can take your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead use it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.