Diane Ladd

Diane Ladd (born Rose Diane Ladner; November 29, 1935 – November 3, 2025) was an American actress. With a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in over 200 films and television shows, receiving three Academy Award nominations for her roles in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Wild at Heart (1990) and Rambling Rose (1991), the first of which won her a BAFTA Award. She was also nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, winning one for her role in the sitcom Alice (1980–1981).

Ladd's other film appearances included Chinatown (1974), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Primary Colors (1998), 28 Days (2000) and Joy (2015). She was the mother of actress Laura Dern, with her ex-husband, actor Bruce Dern.

Early life Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner , the only child of Mary Bernadette Ladner ( Anderson; 1912–2002), a housewife and actress, and Preston Paul Ladner (1906–1982), a veterinarian who sold products for poultry and livestock. She was born in Laurel, Mississippi, on November 29, 1935, while the family was visiting relatives for Thanksgiving, though they lived in Meridian, Mississippi. Ladd was related to playwright Tennessee Williams and poet Sidney Lanier. Ladd was raised in her mother's Roman Catholic faith.

Career In 1953, while living in New Orleans, Ladd was cast in a production of the Jack Kirkland play Tobacco Road, and later moved to New York City, where she acted on stage and screen.

Ladd met Bruce Dern in an off Broadway production of Orpheus Descending in 1960; during the course of the production they got married. Together they appeared in several films including The Wild Angel and The Rebel Rousers in the 1960s, Mrs. Munck in 1995, and American Cowslip in 2009.

In 1971, Ladd joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm. She was the second actress to play the role of Kitty Styles on the long-running daytime serial. She later had a supporting role in Roman Polanski's 1974 film Chinatown, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role as Flo in the film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. That film inspired the television series Alice, in which Flo was portrayed by Polly Holliday. When Holliday left the TV series, Ladd succeeded her as waitress Isabelle "Belle" Dupree.

Her subsequent film appearances included Black Widow (1987), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Primary Colors (1998), 28 Days (2000) and Joy (2015). She appeared in the independent screwball comedy Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me in 1992, where she played a flirty, aging Southern belle alongside her real mother, actress Mary Lanier.

On November 1, 2010, Ladd, Laura Dern and Bruce Dern received adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; this was the first time three members of the same family had been awarded stars on the Walk on the same occasion.

She starred in the Hallmark Channel series Chesapeake Shores.

Ladd's final two film roles were in Gigi & Nate and Isle of Hope , both from 2022.

Personal life and death Ladd was married to actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969. They co-started in two films, and had two daughters: Diane Elizabeth, who died at age eighteen months after a drowning accident, and Laura Elizabeth, who became an actress. Ladd and Laura Dern co-starred in the films Wild at Heart, Daddy and Them, Rambling Rose, Citizen Ruth and Inland Empire, and in the HBO series Enlightened. He preceded her in death by three months, in August 2025.

Ladd was supportive of Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign.

In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed with pneumonia and given six months to a year to live after she inhaled "poison spray" from the farms neighboring her home, constricting her esophagus. Her daughter, Laura, transferred her to another hospital where she made a full recovery.

Ladd died from chronic hypoxic respiratory failure complicated by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at her home in Ojai, California on November 3, 2025 at the age of 89.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1961 Something Wild Bit Part Uncredited 1962 40 Pounds of Trouble Young Bride on Honeymoon Uncredited 1966 The Wild Angels Gaysh With Bruce Dern 1969 The Reivers Phoebe 1970 The Rebel Rousers Karen Shot in 1967 Macho Callahan Girl WUSA Barmaid at Railroad Station Uncredited 1971 The Steagle Mrs. Forbes 1973 White Lightning Maggie Credited as Diane Lad 1974 Chinatown Ida Sessions Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry 1976 Embryo Martha Douglas 1981 All Night Long Helen Dupler 1983 Something Wicked This Way Comes Mrs. Nightshade Sweetwater Lucy 1987 Black Widow Etta Plain Clothes Jane Melway 1989 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Nora Griswold 1990 Wild at Heart Marietta Fortune 1991 A Kiss Before Dying Mrs. Corliss Rambling Rose Mrs. Hillyer 1992 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me Lucille Forever Mabel Normand Spies Inc. Alice 1993 The Cemetery Club Lucille Rubin Carnosaur Dr. Jane Tiptree Father Hood Rita 1995 Mother Olivia Hendrix Also co-producer Mrs. Munck Mrs. Munck Also writer and director Raging Angels Sister Kate 1996 Citizen Ruth Ruth's Mother Uncredited Ghosts of Mississippi Grandma Caroline Moore 1997 Get a Clue Berthe Erica Crow James Dean: Race with Destiny Mama Pierangeli 1998 Primary Colors Mamma Stanton Route 66 1999 Can't Be Heaven Nona Gina 2000 28 Days Bobbie Jean The Law of Enclosures Bea 2001 Daddy and Them Jewel Rain Audrey Turnquick 2002 Redemption of the Ghost Aunt Helen More than Puppy Love Aunt Edna The Virgin 2003 Charlie's War Jobie 2005 The World's Fastest Indian Ada 2006 Come Early Morning Nana When I Find the Ocean Edna Inland Empire Marilyn Levens 2008 Jake's Corner Fran American Cowslip Roe 2013 Grave Secrets Emily Barnes 2014 Just Before I Go Mamma Uncredited 2015 I Dream Too Much Vera Joy Mimi 2016 Sophie and the Rising Sun Ruth Jeffers Amerigeddon Betty Boonville Redemption Grandma Mary 2019 The Last Full Measure Alice Pitsenbarger Alice Paul Uncredited 2022 Gigi & Nate Mama Blanche 1990 Wild at Heart 1991 Rambling Rose 2015 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards Best Supporting Actress Joy 1975 British Academy Film Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1991 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Rambling Rose 1977 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actress in a Play A Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander 1974 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1980 Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Alice 1990 Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Wild at Heart 1991 Rambling Rose 1991 Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Female 1974 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actress Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1993 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman 1994 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Grace Under Fire 1997 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Touched by an Angel