🔗 Share this article Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at Age 89. This Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd passed away 89 years old. The actress, with roles spanned Chinatown, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. This announcement was announced in a statement from her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, her daughter. Laura Dern, who appeared with Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my profound gift being my mom”, noting that she was present when she passed. “She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were lucky to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.” Initial Roles and Rise to Fame Ladd’s early career saw minor parts in TV shows like Perry Mason while that decade featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress. 1980s and Beyond Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and comedy sequel Christmas Vacation and appeared on the show Alice, a comedy program derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. During the next ten years, she earned another supporting actress nomination for her role in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she acted as the parent of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received a further nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Dern. “This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew me and Laura to London for a premiere and a party in our honor,” Ladd said regarding Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, with tears, viewing our performance.” That decade also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, the movie Primary Colors, a comedy about politics, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern another time. Those years also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama. Partnerships with Her Daughter She continued to star with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen with actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy. Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy. Writing and Directing She also authored and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck featuring Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him in a movie. Actually, I’m the only woman in recorded history to direct her ex-husband. I make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you want revenge, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.” Personal Connections She happened to be a family member of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a major inspiration in my life”. Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a respiratory illness and informed she had just six months to live but she regained full health when her daughter transferred her to another medical facility. “If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to investigate, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.