🔗 Share this article Diane Ladd, Known For Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89. This award-nominated performer the celebrated Diane Ladd left us 89 years old. The star, whose credits spanned Chinatown, passed away at home in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed through a message by her offspring, Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern. Laura Dern, who performed alongside Diane Ladd in a number of films including Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero and my profound gift being my mom”, stating that she was by her side as she died. “She was the greatest mother, daughter, grandmother, star, artist as well as compassionate soul that seemed almost dreamlike,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.” Beginnings and Breakthrough The start of her career included small roles on television series such as Gunsmoke whereas the seventies had her appearing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown. During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress. Later Decades Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in crime thriller Black Widow, a suspense story plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a television series inspired by her earlier movie. In the subsequent decade, she received an additional supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her part in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The next year she received another nomination for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Laura Dern. “This movie that the late Princess Diana picked as her top choice, and she invited me and Laura to England for a special screening and a celebration for us,” Ladd said about the film Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.” The 1990s also saw roles in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a satirical film, with John Travolta and Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed Laura Dern’s mom once more. Those years also earned her nominations for Emmy Awards for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel. Partnerships with Her Daughter She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies the film Daddy and Them, Lynch’s Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series Enlightened, a TV series. She was also seen alongside Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in The World’s Fastest Indian and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy. Her later TV roles included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy. Behind the Camera She also authored and helmed the comedy the movie Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and ex-husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she mentioned. “It was a privilege to guide him on a project. In fact, I’m the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, direct your ex-husband.’ Though I’m just teasing.” Personal Life Ladd was also a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, who she referred to as “a significant impact throughout my life”. Back in 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and told she had just six months to live but she regained full health once her daughter shifted her to another medical facility. “If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead apply it to explore, to illuminate the way for yourself and others, then you are winning,” Ladd expressed.