Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89.

The Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd, a Hollywood veteran passed away at the age of 89.

The actor, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, passed away at home at her Ojai, California home. The news was shared via an announcement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in various films such as Wild at Heart, described her as “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift as a mother”, stating that she was by her side as she died.

“She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, performer, creative along with compassionate soul that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

Ladd’s early career saw small roles on television series including Gunsmoke while that decade featured her performing alongside Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she shared the screen alongside Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod in the supporting actress category.

Subsequent Years

During the eighties, she was seen in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the show Alice, a comedy program based on her earlier movie.

During the next ten years, she was given a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her role in Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she acted as the mom of her real-life daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received another nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern.

“This movie which Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to the UK for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd recalled of Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, holding both our hands, with tears, seeing us act.”

That decade also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club joining her again with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, featuring John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played Dern’s mother another time. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama.

Collaborations with Daughter

She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, the David Lynch project the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened, a TV series. She additionally starred alongside actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

Her more recent television parts included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy.

Behind the Camera

Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy Mrs Munck which starred her and former husband Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ But I’m only kidding.”

Personal Connections

She happened to be the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”.

During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with a pulmonary condition and advised she only had half a year left but made a full recovery when her daughter shifted her to a different hospital.

“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 expressed.