Diane Ladd, Oscar-Nominated Actress of ‘Chinatown’ and ‘wild at Heart,’ Dies at 86
Diane Ladd, a prolific and highly respected actress known for her compelling performances in iconic films like Chinatown and Wild at Heart, died November 3 at her home in Ojai, California. She was 86.Her daughter, actress Laura Dern, was at her bedside.
Ladd’s passing marks the loss of a meaningful figure in American cinema, an actress whose career spanned decades and encompassed a remarkable range of roles. She earned three Academy Award nominations for her work in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild at Heart, and Rambling Rose, cementing her status as a versatile and impactful performer. Her death follows a career marked by both critical acclaim and enduring popularity, influencing generations of actors and filmmakers.
Ladd first garnered widespread recognition for her portrayal of Ida sessions in Roman Polanski’s neo-noir masterpiece, Chinatown (1974). As the observant and ultimately tragic wife of a key figure in the film’s central mystery, she aided Jack Nicholson’s Jake Giddes in uncovering a web of corruption and deceit.
Her performance in Martin Scorsese’s alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) brought her a first Oscar nomination, playing Flo, a memorable waitress alongside Ellen Burstyn’s Alice. The character was later reimagined in the television sitcom alice, played by Polly Holliday.
Ladd received her second Oscar nomination for her role as Marietta, Lula’s vengeful mother, in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990).The film,which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival that year,showcased her ability to embody complex and frequently enough unsettling characters. A third nomination followed in 1991 for Rambling Rose, where she co-starred with Robert Duvall, Lucas Haas, and Dern.
Beyond these landmark roles,Ladd’s filmography included appearances in beloved films such as National Lampoon’s christmas Vacation (1989),Ghosts of Mississippi (1996),Primary Colors (1998),28 Days (2000),and Joy (2015). She also ventured into television, notably starring as the psychic Mrs. Druse in Stephen King’s 2004 ABC miniseries, Kingdom Hospital.
In more recent years, Ladd appeared in Lifetime’s Montana Sky and alongside Anthony Hopkins in The World’s Fastest Indian. She also demonstrated her creative range by writing and directing the 1995 film Mrs. Munck, which featured Bruce Dern, Kelly Preston, the late Shelley Winters, and herself.
