Diane Ladd, the versatile and prolific actress actress whose six-decade career included Oscar-nominated performances in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and “Wild at Heart,” has died. She was 89.
Ladd’s death was confirmed Monday by her daugther, Laura Dern, in a statement to TheWrap. No cause was immediately disclosed.
“My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Ca.,” Dern wrote. “She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created … We were blessed to have her … She is flying with her angels now.”
Born Rose Diane Ladner in 1935, Ladd appeared in over 200 films and TV shows, receiving three Academy Award nominations for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (for which she won a BAFTA) in 1974, “Wild at Heart” in 1990, and “Rambling Rose” in 1991. She was also nominated for three Emmy Awards and four Golden Globes, winning one for her role in the sitcom “Alice.”
Ladd starred in innumerable other popular and critically acclaimed films over decades, including “Chinatown,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Ghosts of Mississippi” and “Joy.”
Ladd was married to actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969, and the couple had two children – Diane Elizabeth, who died at 18 months in a drowning accident, and Laura, who went on to co-star with her mother in “Wild at Heart,” “Rambling Rose,” “Citizen Ruth” and “Inland Empire.” They also shared a bill in the HBO series “Enlightened.” Laura Dern also made uncredited appearances in “White Lightning” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”
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