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

The Oscar-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd has died 89 years old.

This actor, whose roles featured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. The news was revealed through a message by her offspring, award-winning actress Laura Dern.

Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in several movies including Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my amazing hero and my special gift as a mother”, writing that she was present as she died.

“She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, star, artist and caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she wrote. “We were fortunate to know her. Her spirit soars with angels.”

Early Career and Rise to Fame

The start of her career saw small roles in television programs including Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s featured her performing with actor Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.

During that year, 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance earned Ladd an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actress category.

1980s and Beyond

In the 1980s, she was seen in the thriller Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film National Lampoon’s holiday comedy and also took part in the show Alice, a television series inspired by the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

In the subsequent decade, she earned an additional Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a cult classic in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The following year she was awarded an additional nod for her acting in Rambling Rose, another movie which also starred Dern.

“This movie that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she brought us to London for a royal premiere and a celebration for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, grasping our hands, and weeping, watching us perform.”

That decade included parts in the comedy Cemetery Club bringing her back with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as the mother of Dern another time. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in the series Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel.

Working with Laura Dern

She kept appearing with her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series the program Enlightened. She additionally starred with Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama.

Her later TV roles featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon.

Behind the Camera

She also authored and directed the comedy film Mrs Munck which starred Diane Ladd and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him on a project. In fact, I am the sole female in recorded history to helm a film with her ex. I often joke: ‘I say ladies, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.”

Family Ties

She happened to be a family member of the great Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence on my life”.

In 2018, doctors misdiagnosed Ladd with a pulmonary condition and told she only had half a year left but made a full recovery once her daughter transferred her to a new hospital.

“If you can take your pain and not let it back up similar to a wound, instead use it to explore, to illuminate the way for you and those around, then you are winning,” Ladd said.