🔗 Share this article Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Celebrated For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Dies at the Age of 89. The award-nominated actor the celebrated Diane Ladd left us aged 89. The actress, whose roles featured Chinatown, died at her home in California’s Ojai. Her passing was announced in a statement shared by her offspring, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern. Laura Dern, who starred with her mom in various films like Rambling Rose, described her as “my wonderful hero and my special gift as a mother”, noting that she was by her side during her final moments. “She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she expressed. “We were lucky to have her. She is flying with her angels now.” Beginnings and Breakthrough Her initial acting years saw small roles in TV shows such as The Fugitive and that decade saw her starring next to Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. In the same year, the year 1974, she performed with Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese acclaimed film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her acting landed Ladd her first Oscar nomination as best supporting actress. 1980s and Beyond During the eighties, she appeared in crime thriller Black Widow and comedy sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and appeared on Alice, a comedy program based on the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. In the following decade, she earned a further Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in Lynch’s Wild at Heart where she played the mom of her actual daughter Laura Dern’s role. The following year she was awarded a further nomination for her role in the film Rambling Rose which also starred Laura Dern. “This movie which Princess Diana chose as her absolutely favorite, and she invited Laura and I to London for a premiere and a party for us,” Ladd shared of Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, with tears, watching us perform.” The 1990s also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy in which she portrayed the mother of Dern once more. The decade also saw her score Emmy nominations for roles on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel, a drama. Working with Laura Dern She kept appearing alongside her daughter in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, the David Lynch project Inland Empire and White’s comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared with Sandra Bullock in 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy. Her later TV roles consisted of Ray Donovan, a drama plus Young Sheldon. Writing and Directing She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film featuring her and former husband Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I was honored to direct him on a project. Actually, I stand as the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I often joke: ‘I tell women, should you desire retribution, direct your ex-husband.’ But I’m only kidding.” Family Ties She was additionally the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a great influence in my life”. During 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a pulmonary condition and informed her life expectancy was six months yet she recovered completely when her daughter shifted her to a new hospital. “Should you harness your suffering and avoid letting it accumulate like a sore or something, rather utilize it to discover, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are winning,” Ladd said.