🔗 Share this article Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Passes Away at the Age of 89. The award-nominated actress Diane Ladd has died aged 89. This actor, with roles included Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. Her passing was revealed via an announcement from her daughter, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern. Dern, who appeared with her mom in a number of films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero plus my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside when she passed. “She was an exceptional mother, daughter, grandmother, actress, artist as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.” Early Career and Breakthrough Ladd’s early career featured small roles on television series like Perry Mason whereas that decade saw her starring next to actor Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown. In the same year, the year 1974, she appeared with Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s praised comedy drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her acting landed Ladd an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. 1980s and Beyond During the eighties, she starred in crime thriller the movie Black Widow plus comedy sequel Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a sitcom based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. During the next ten years, she received an additional best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her biological child Laura Dern’s role. The following year she received a further nomination for her role in Rambling Rose which included Laura Dern. “This was the picture that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she flew me and Laura to the UK for a premiere and an event for us,” Ladd recalled about the film Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, with tears, seeing us act.” The 1990s also saw roles in humorous films Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she played Laura Dern’s mom once more. The decade also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel. Partnerships with Her Daughter She persisted in performing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy. Her later TV roles consisted of the series Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon. Behind the Camera Ladd also wrote and helmed the comedy film the movie Mrs Munck featuring herself and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. Indeed, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you want revenge, helm a movie with your ex.’ Though I’m just teasing.” Personal Connections She happened to be the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a great influence on my life”. In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but she regained full health once her daughter transferred her to a different hospital. “Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to make the path clearer for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd remarked.