🔗 Share this article Acclaimed Actress Diane Ladd, Known For Her Role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Has Died at Age 89. This Academy Award-nominated actor Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89. The star, with credits included National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, died at her home at her Ojai, California home. This announcement was shared via an announcement by her daughter, award-winning actress Laura Dern. Her daughter, who appeared with her mother in various films like Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, called her “my wonderful hero as well as my profound gift being my mom”, stating that she was present when she passed. “She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, performer, creative as well as empathetic spirit that seemed almost dreamlike,” she wrote. “We were blessed to have her. She is now with the angels.” Beginnings and Breakthrough Ladd’s early career featured small roles in television programs like Gunsmoke whereas that decade featured her performing next to Jack Nicholson in the classic Chinatown. During that year, 1974, she appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn in Scorsese’s celebrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Her role landed Ladd her initial Oscar nod as best supporting actress. Later Decades Throughout the 1980s, she was seen in the dramatic film Black Widow, a suspense story and humorous film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and also took part in Alice, a comedy program derived from the film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. In the following decade, she was given another Oscar nomination for supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the David Lynch film the movie Wild at Heart in which she portrayed the parent of her actual daughter Dern’s character. The next year she received an additional nod for her role in Rambling Rose, another movie that also featured Laura Dern. “This was the picture that the late Princess Diana selected as her very favorite, and she flew Laura and I to London for a premiere and an event in our honor,” Ladd recalled regarding Rambling Rose. “And she sat between us, holding both our hands, and crying, viewing our performance.” That decade featured performances in comedy The Cemetery Club reuniting her with her co-star Burstyn, Primary Colors, a political story, a comedy about politics, starring John Travolta and Alexander Payne’s the movie Citizen Ruth where she acted as Laura Dern’s mom again. That period also saw her score TV award nominations for performances on Dr Quinn, Grace Under Fire and Touched by an Angel. Partnerships with Her Daughter She continued to star alongside her daughter in films blending humor and drama Daddy and Them, a movie, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a surreal film and the series by Mike White comedy-drama series Enlightened, a TV series. She also appeared next to actress Sandra Bullock in the film 28 Days, Sir Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian, a film and with Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, a biographical drama. Subsequent TV appearances featured the series Ray Donovan and Young Sheldon, a comedy. Filmmaking Ventures She also authored and oversaw the comedy film Mrs Munck that included Diane Ladd and previous spouse actor Bruce Dern. “Bruce is a talented star,” she noted. “I’m privileged to have directed him in a film. In fact, I’m the only woman in history to direct her ex-husband. I humorously say: ‘I advise females, should you desire retribution, helm a movie with your ex.’ But I’m only kidding.” Family Ties Ladd was also the third cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, whom she described as “a significant impact throughout my life”. During 2018, she received an incorrect diagnosis with lung disease and advised she had just six months to live but she regained full health after her daughter transferred her to a new hospital. “If you can take your pain and avoid letting it accumulate like an injury, instead apply it to investigate, to illuminate the way for personal and collective growth, then you are triumphing,” Ladd said.