🔗 Share this article Diane Ladd, Famed For Her Performance in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89. This Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd left us at the age of 89. The actor, with filmography included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, left this world in her residence in California’s Ojai. Her passing was shared in a statement from her offspring, Academy Award-winning star her daughter Laura Dern. Laura Dern, who starred with her mother in several movies like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, referred to her as “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift as a mother”, writing that she was present as she died. “She was the most wonderful grandmother, mother, daughter, performer, creative along with empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” she stated. “We were blessed to have her. Her spirit soars with angels.” Beginnings and Rise to Fame Ladd’s early career featured supporting roles in television programs like The Fugitive and the seventies featured her performing next to the legendary Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. That very year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in the Martin Scorsese celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, a classic. Her role earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. 1980s and Beyond Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in the dramatic film the movie Black Widow plus funny follow-up Christmas Vacation while also joining the sitcom Alice, a comedy program derived from her earlier movie. In the following decade, she received an additional supporting actress nomination for her part in David Lynch’s the movie Wild at Heart where she played the mother of her actual daughter the character played by Dern. The following year she received another nomination for her acting in the film Rambling Rose which included her daughter. “This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a special screening and a party for us,” Ladd shared about the film Rambling Rose. “She sat with us, grasping our hands, and weeping, seeing us act.” The nineties also saw roles in the comedy Cemetery Club, a film reuniting her with Ellen Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political comedy, starring John Travolta and the film by Alexander Payne Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy where she acted as the mother of Dern once more. That period also earned her TV award nominations for performances in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Grace Under Fire, a sitcom and Touched by an Angel. Collaborations with Daughter She continued to star with Laura Dern in dramatic comedies Daddy and Them, David Lynch’s the movie Inland Empire and Mike White’s dark comedy series the program Enlightened. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in that movie and Jennifer Lawrence in the film Joy. Her more recent television parts featured Ray Donovan plus Young Sheldon. Writing and Directing She also authored and helmed the comedy film Mrs Munck, a film which starred her and previous spouse Bruce Dern, an actor. “Bruce is an excellent performer,” 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 make a joke: ‘I advise females, if you seek payback, guide your former spouse.’ However, I’m joking.” Personal Connections She was additionally the third cousin of Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact on my life”. In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and informed she only had half a year left but she regained full health once her daughter moved her to a different hospital. “When you use your pain and prevent it from festering like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to clarify the journey for you and those around, then you are succeeding,” Ladd remarked.