Diane Ladd, the Southern-born actress whose blend of wit, warmth and intensity earned her three Oscar nominations for performances in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Wild at Heart” and “Rambling Rose,” died Monday at age 89.
Ladd’s daughter, Oscar-winning actress Laura Dern, announced her mother’s death Monday.
“My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother passed with me beside her this morning at her home in Ojai, California. 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,” Dern said.
No cause of death was given.
Ladd built a six-decade career defined by both grit and grace. She could command a scene with a sly grin or a quiet tear, whether playing a brash waitress in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” or the fiercely protective mother in David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart.”
She went on to amass one of Hollywood’s most eclectic résumés, appearing in “Chinatown,” “Primary Colors” and earning a third Oscar nomination for “Rambling Rose,” which also starred her daughter.
On television, she appeared in “ER,” “Touched by an Angel” and “Alice,” the sitcom inspired by Scorsese’s film.
Born Rose Diane Lanier on Nov. 29, 1935, in Meridian, Mississippi, Ladd grew up the daughter of a veterinarian and a homemaker.
After high school, she studied in New Orleans, sang jazz on weekends and eventually followed her ambition to the New York stage, where she performed in productions of “Tobacco Road” and “A Hatful of Rain” before making her Broadway debut in Sidney Poitier’s “Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights” in 1968.
Her big break came in 1974, when Scorsese cast her as Flo, the brash, tart-tongued waitress in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” earning her first Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win.
She later joined the cast of the television spinoff “Alice,” winning another Golden Globe for her role as Belle Dupree.
Ladd’s fearless performances made her a favorite among directors, who praised her instinct and emotional honesty on screen.
Ladd and Dern often shared the screen in roles that reflected their real-life connection. They co-starred in “Wild at Heart” and “Rambling Rose,” earning matching Oscar nominations for the latter.
The two later reunited in “Citizen Ruth,” “Daddy and Them,” “Inland Empire,” and the HBO series “Enlightened.”
Ladd received three Emmy nominations over her career and continued acting well into her 80s, appearing in “Grace Under Fire,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” and the Hallmark Channel series “Chesapeake Shores.”
She also wrote and directed the 1995 comedy “Mrs. Munck,” which co-starred her former husband, actor Bruce Dern. The couple married in 1960 and had two daughters, Laura and Diane Elizabeth, who died in infancy.
Bruce Dern remembered Ladd on Monday as both an artist and a mother in a statement reported by Variety.
“Diane was a tremendous actress and I feel like, a bit of a `hidden treasure’ until she ran into David Lynch. When he cast her as Laura’s mom in `Wild at Heart’ it felt like the world then really understood her brilliance,” he said.
“She was a great value as a decades-long board member of SAG, giving a real actress’ point of view. She lived a good life. She saw everything the way it was. She was a great teammate to her fellow actors. She was funny, clever, gracious. But most importantly to me, she was a wonderful mother to our incredible wunderkind daughter. And for that I will be forever grateful to her.”
A distant cousin of playwright Tennessee Williams, Ladd often said her Southern upbringing shaped her storytelling and sense of character.
In addition to Laura Dern, she is survived by two grandchildren.