Hollywood icon Diane Ladd, mother of Laura Dern, dies aged 89

Diane Ladd, Hollywood actress and the mother of Laura Dern, has died (Picture: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Iconic Hollywood actress Diane Ladd, who has appeared in more than 200 movies and TV shows, has died aged 89.

Ladd was also the mother of Academy Award-winning star Laura Dern, 58.

Perhaps best known for her role in 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and its subsequent sitcom, Ladd was also nominated for three Oscars and three Emmys during her career.

Announcing her death, Jurassic Park star Dern said in a heartfelt statement: ‘My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Calif.’

She added to People: ‘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 (left) was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Picture: Bettmann Archive) The movie star died with daughter Dern by her side (Picture: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Roadside Attractions)

Ladd’s other acting credits include Wild at Heart (1990) and Rambling Rose (1991). She received Oscar nominations for these projects, as well as for her portrayal of Florence Jean (‘Flo’) Castleberry in Martin Scorsese’s romantic drama Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Then, in 1981, she earned a best supporting actress in a TV series Golden Globe for CBS spin-off Alice. Her stellar career saw her nominated for three additional Golden Globes.

Ladd’s further silver screen appearances include Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), 28 Days (2000), Charlie’s War (2003), Joy (2015), and Gigi & Nate (2022).

TV-wise, she acted in recurring roles on Kingdom Hospital and Chesapeake Shores.

With regard to her personal life, Ladd was married three times. Firstly, to Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969, then to William Shea Jr. from 1969 to 1977.

Her third husband, Robert Charles Hunter, died in July this year, aged 77. They married in 1999.

As well as her daughter Dern, Ladd is survived by her grandchildren, Ellery and Jaya.⁠

She also had a daughter named Diane Elizabeth with her first husband, but she tragically died at just 18 months old in a drowning accident.

Comments