Diane Ladd dies at 89: Cause of death of 3-time Oscar-nominated actress and mother of Laura Dern
A legendary actress who had roles in films by Martin Scorsese and David Lynch, Ladd has passed away at the age of 89.
Diane Ladd, the acclaimed actress whose performances earned her three Academy Award nominations, has died at the age of 89. Her daughter, fellow actress Laura Dern, confirmed the news in a heartfelt statement.
“Flying with the angels now”
“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 said in a message shared with The Hollywood Reporter on Monday.
“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.”
Ladd’s cause of death has not been confirmed. In 2018, it was revealed that she had been diagnosed with the lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Ladd’s legendary life and career
Born in 1935 in Ojai, California, Ladd was a second cousin of legendary playwright Tennessee Williams. Her career began in the 1960s with appearances in television series such as Wide Country, Perry Mason, Mr. Novak, and Hazel.
Her film debut came in 1966 with The Wild Angels, launching a prolific career that spanned more than six decades across film and television.
In addition to her Oscar nominations, Ladd was nominated four times for Golden Globe Awards, winning once for her role in the CBS sitcom Alice, where she was honored as Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film.
Her breakout film role came in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), a picture in which she portrayed Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry, a brash but warm-hearted diner waitress.
In David Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990), Ladd played Marietta Fortune, the unhinged and manipulative mother of Dern’s character. She drew inspiration from the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz - a favorite film of Lynch’s - to shape her performance, which earned her a second Oscar nomination.
Ladd and Dern collaborated frequently throughout their careers. They portrayed mother and daughter not only in Wild at Heart, but also HBO’s critically acclaimed series Enlightened (2011-2013), and the films Citizen Ruth and Daddy and Them.
Ladd and Dern also starred together in Lynch’s surrealist epic Inland Empire, as well as the movie that brought the former’s third Oscar nomination. In the Southern-set drama Rambling Rose (1991), Ladd played the matriarch of a family that takes in a troubled young woman, portrayed by Dern.
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