Diane Ladd, the three-time Academy Award nominee and mother of Laura Dern, has died at 89. Her career stretched across stage, film and television for more than six decades, earning critical praise and a Golden Globe along the way. She leaves behind a family active in Hollywood and a body of work that includes landmark films and memorable TV roles. Friends, colleagues and loved ones have shared statements about a life lived in the spotlight and on her own terms.
Diane Ladd, three-time Oscar nominee and mother of actress Laura Dern, has died. She was 89 years old.
Diane Ladd, the Oscar-nominated actress and mother to Laura Dern, has died. She was 89.
Dern announced the news in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. She revealed that her mom died in California on Monday, Nov. 3. No cause of death was given.
Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner in Laurel, Mississippi, and grew up in nearby Meridian. She was the only child of Mary and Paul Ladner and attended St. Aloysius Catholic School as a girl. That small-town beginning led to a restless, artistic drive that pushed her toward performing as soon as she could.
Dern issued a statement on her mother’s passing, which read, “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. She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created. We were bless to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”
At 16, Ladd graduated from St. Aloysius and later attended finishing school in New Orleans where she debated law versus acting. She trained in singing, dancing and even fencing, and spent time acting in community theater while honing her craft. Those early choices set the stage for a restless career that moved fluidly between stage and screen.
One of her stage performances caught the eye of a touring cast member from John Carradine’s Tobacco Road, which led to a part in a San Francisco production. That break helped her move into larger regional and eventually national work. From there she began landing parts that opened doors to film and television opportunities.
Ladd’s career spanned more than six decades, covering plays, movies and TV. In 1971 she joined the cast of the CBS soap The Secret Storm and landed a supporting role in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown in 1974. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and later reprised her character Flo in the TV series Alice.
She earned additional Oscar nominations for her roles in Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, recognition that cemented her place among respected character actresses of her generation. While she never took home an Academy Award, she did win the 1981 Golden Globe for her work on Alice.
Ladd worked with David Lynch on Wild at Heart, sharing the screen with her daughter Laura Dern in a film that pushed boundaries and drew attention to both actresses. Lynch died in January from complications of emphysema, a loss noted by many who remembered the director’s impact on American cinema. The collaboration with Lynch remains one of the standout chapters of Ladd’s late-career resurgence.
In 1960 Ladd married actor Bruce Dern; the couple had two children, a daughter named Diane who died at 18 months and their daughter Laura. The marriage ended after nine years, but both remained prominent figures in Hollywood. Ladd later married William A. Shea Jr. from 1969 to 1977 and was married to Robert Hunter from 1999 until his death earlier this year.
In a statement, Dern remembered his former wife, “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,” Dern 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.”
In 2010 Diane Ladd and both Bruce and Laura Dern were honored with adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a public recognition of three intertwined careers. Ladd is survived by her daughter Laura, her former husband Bruce Dern, and grandchildren Ellery and Jaya. Her long career, distinctive voice and many performances leave a lasting footprint on stage and screen.
