🔗 Share this article Oscar-Nominated Star Diane Ladd, Known For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at the Age of 89. This Academy Award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89. This actress, with roles spanned Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, died at her home in California’s Ojai. The news was shared through a message by her child, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern. Her daughter, who appeared with her mom in a number of films including Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was at her bedside as she died. “She was an exceptional daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist as well as caring individual that felt like a dream come true,” she expressed. “We were fortunate to know her. She is flying with her angels now.” Initial Roles and Rise to Fame Ladd’s early career included small roles in television programs such as Gunsmoke whereas the 1970s featured her performing next to Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown. In the same year, the year 1974, she appeared with actress Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s acclaimed dramatic comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The performance landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod for best supporting actress. Subsequent Years During the eighties, she starred in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow as well as comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a television series based on her earlier movie. During the next ten years, she was given a further best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her real-life daughter Dern’s character. A year later she was awarded an additional nod for her performance in the film Rambling Rose which included Dern. “This was the film that the late Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she brought me and Laura to England for a royal premiere and an event dedicated to us,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “She positioned herself between us, taking our hands, and crying, watching us perform.” That decade featured performances in the comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth in which she portrayed Dern’s mother again. The decade also saw her score nominations for Emmy Awards for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire plus Touched by an Angel. Partnerships with Her Daughter She kept appearing with her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, a movie, Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, a movie, Anthony Hopkins, a legend in that movie and with Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy. Subsequent TV appearances included Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon. Writing and Directing She additionally penned and oversaw the comedy Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and former husband actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she said. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a movie. Indeed, I stand as the only woman ever who directed her former husband. I humorously say: ‘I tell women, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ Though I’m just teasing.” Family Ties She was additionally a relative of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact in my life”. In 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and informed she had just six months to live but made a full recovery when her daughter transferred her to a new hospital. “When you use your pain and avoid letting it accumulate similar to a wound, instead apply it to investigate, to make the path clearer for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.