🔗 Share this article Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89. The Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd passed away aged 89. The actress, with roles spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was announced via an announcement shared by her daughter, award-winning actress her daughter Laura Dern. Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in various films such as Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my incredible hero as well as my precious gift being my mom”, writing that she was by her side when she passed. “She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist along with caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.” Early Career and Rise to Fame Her initial acting years saw supporting roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke and the seventies featured her performing alongside the legendary Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown. That very year, 1974, she shared the screen with actress Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s praised film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category. Later Decades In the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s holiday comedy while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program derived from Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. During the next ten years, she received another supporting actress nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she obtained another nomination for her performance in the film Rambling Rose that also featured Laura Dern. “This was the picture that Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she brought us to England for a special screening and a party in our honor,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.” The 1990s featured performances in comedy Cemetery Club, a film joining her again with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, with John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she played the mother of Dern once more. Those years also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for work in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, the show Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel. Collaborations with Daughter She kept appearing with Laura Dern in films blending humor and drama the film Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s satirical show Enlightened. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock, a star in the film 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian plus Jennifer Lawrence in Joy. Subsequent TV appearances included the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy. Filmmaking Ventures Ladd also wrote and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman ever to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, helm a movie with your ex.’ However, I’m joking.” Personal Connections Ladd was also a family member of Tennessee Williams, who she called “a significant impact in my life”. Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed her life expectancy was six months but made a full recovery when her daughter moved her to another medical facility. “Should you harness your suffering and not let it back up like an injury, instead apply it to discover, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd said.