Diane Ladd (1935-2025)
The legendary actress Diane Ladd has died. She was 89 years old. Her daughter, actress Laura Dern, confirmed her death on Monday, just three months after she lost her husband of 26 years. She appeared in more than 200 films and television programmes, including "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," "Wild At Heart," and "Rambling Rose." The latter two films featured Ladd's daughter, Dern, in a starring role.
Throughout their careers, the pair frequently collaborated, often playing mother and daughter on screen. Most recently, they appeared together in Mike White's highly acclaimed TV series "Enlightened," which ran for two seasons from 2011 to 2013 and earned a strong cult following.
In the 1950s, Ladd began her acting career on television, appearing in shows such as "Perry Mason," "The Fugitive," "Gunsmoke," and "The Big Valley." In 1974, she starred alongside Jack Nicholson in Roman Polanski's crime drama "Chinatown." That same year, she co-starred with Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese's celebrated comedy-drama "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." Her performance earned Ladd her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to star in its TV spin-off "Alice."
In the eighties, she appeared in "Black Widow" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." A decade later, she received another Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in "Wild At Heart." Another nomination for her role in "Rambling Rose" arrived the following year. In the 1990s, she appeared in the comedy "Cemetery Club," which reunited her with Ellen Burstyn. She also starred in the political comedy "Primary Colors" opposite John Travolta, and in Alexander Payne's "Citizen Ruth." Over the course of the decade, she also received Emmy nominations for her work on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "Grace Under Fire," and "Touched by an Angel."
Ladd continued to appear in films, including the comedy-drama "Daddy and Them", David Lynch's "Inland Empire," "28 Days" opposite Sandra Bullock, "The World's Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins, and "Joy" with Jennifer Lawrence. She later appeared in TV shows, such as "Ray Donovan" and "Young Sheldon."
Ladd was married three times. One of her husbands was actor Bruce Dern, with whom she had two daughters, including Laura and another, who tragically drowned in a swimming pool at 18 months old. Their marriage lasted for 9 years. Ladd also happened to be the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams.
