Diane Ladd | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ladd in 1975 | |
| Born | Rose Diane Ladner (1935-11-29)November 29, 1935 Laurel, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 2025(2025-11-03) (aged 89) Ojai, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1953–2022 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingLaura Dern |
| Website | www |
| Signature | |
 | |
Diane Ladd (bornRose 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 threeAcademy Award nominations for her roles inAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974),Wild at Heart (1990) andRambling Rose (1991), the first of which won her aBAFTA Award. She was also nominated for threePrimetime Emmy Awards and fourGolden Globe Awards, winning one for her role in the sitcomAlice (1980–1981).
Ladd's other film appearances includedChinatown (1974),National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989),Ghosts of Mississippi (1996),Primary Colors (1998),28 Days (2000) andJoy (2015). She was the mother of actressLaura Dern, with her ex-husband, actorBruce Dern.
Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner, theonly child of Mary Bernadette Ladner (née Anderson; 1912–2002), a housewife and actress, and Preston Paul Ladner (1906–1982), a veterinarian who sold products for poultry and livestock.[1][2][3][4] She was born inLaurel, Mississippi, on November 29, 1935, while the family was visiting relatives for Thanksgiving, though they lived inMeridian, Mississippi.[1][5] Ladd was related to playwrightTennessee Williams[6] and poetSidney Lanier.[7] Ladd was raised in her mother'sRoman Catholic faith.[8][9]
In 1953, while living inNew Orleans, Ladd was cast in a production of theJack Kirkland playTobacco Road, and later moved to New York City, where she acted on stage and screen.[10]
Ladd met Bruce Dern in an off Broadway production ofOrpheus Descending in 1960; during the course of the production they got married.[11] Together they appeared in several films includingThe Wild Angel andThe Rebel Rousers in the 1960s,Mrs. Munck in 1995, andAmerican Cowslip in 2009.[12]
In 1971, Ladd joined the cast of the CBS soap operaThe 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 inRoman Polanski's 1974 filmChinatown, and was nominated for an Academy Award forBest Actress in a Supporting Role for her role asFlo in the filmAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. That film inspired the television seriesAlice, in which Flo was portrayed byPolly Holliday. When Holliday left the TV series, Ladd succeeded her as waitressIsabelle "Belle" Dupree.
Her subsequent film appearances includedBlack Widow (1987),National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989),Ghosts of Mississippi (1996),Primary Colors (1998),28 Days (2000) andJoy (2015). She appeared in the independentscrewball comedyHold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me in 1992, where she played a flirty, aging Southern belle alongside her real mother, actress Mary Lanier.[13]
In 2004, Ladd playedpsychic Mrs. Druse in the television miniseries ofStephen King'sKingdom Hospital. In April 2006, Ladd released her first book,Spiraling Through The School of Life: A Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Discovery. In 2007, she co-starred in theLifetime Television filmMontana Sky.
In addition to her Academy Award nomination forAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, she was also nominated (again in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category) for bothWild at Heart andRambling Rose, in both of which she starred alongside her daughterLaura Dern. Dern received a nomination forBest Actress forRambling Rose. The dual mother and daughter nominations for Ladd and Dern inRambling Rose marked the first time inAcademy Awards history that such an event had occurred. They were also nominated for dualGolden Globe Awards in the same year.
Ladd also worked in theatre. She made her Broadway debut inCarry Me Back to Morningside Heights in 1968. In 1976, she starred inA Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander, for which she received aDrama Desk Award nomination.[14]
On November 1, 2010, Ladd, Laura Dern and Bruce Dern received adjoining stars on theHollywood 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.[15]
She starred in theHallmark Channel seriesChesapeake Shores.[16]
Ladd's final two film roles were inGigi & Nate andIsle of Hope[17], both from 2022.[18]
Ladd was married to actor and two-time co-starBruce Dern from 1960 to 1969.[19] They had two daughters, Diane Elizabeth, who died at age eighteen months after a drowning accident, andLaura Elizabeth, who became a successful actress.[20][21] Ladd and Laura Dern co-starred in the filmsWild at Heart,Rambling Rose,Citizen Ruth andInland Empire, and in theHBO seriesEnlightened.[10] The two also appeared together inWhite Lightning andAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, although Laura was uncredited in both.
Ladd was married to William A. Shea Jr. from 1969 to 1977. She married again in 1999, to her third husband, Robert Charles Hunter.[20] Hunter was at one point the CEO ofPepsiCo Food Systems.[22] He preceded her in death by three months, in late August 2025.[22][23]
Ladd was supportive ofJesse Jackson's1988 presidential campaign.[24]
In 2018, Ladd was misdiagnosed withpneumonia and given six months to a year to live after she inhaled "poison spray" from the farms neighboring her home, constricting heresophagus.[25] Her daughter, Laura, transferred her to another hospital where she made a full recovery.[26]
Ladd died from chronic hypoxic respiratory failure complicated byidiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at her home inOjai, California on November 3, 2025 at the age of 89.[27][28][29]
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| 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 | [10] |
| 2020 | Charlie's Christmas Wish | Nana | |
| 2021 | Charming the Hearts of Men[30] | Alice Paul | Uncredited |
| 2022 | Gigi & Nate | Mama Blanche | [18] |
| Isle of Hope | Carmen Crawford | [18] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Decoy | Selma Richmond | Episode: "Two Days to Kill" |
| 1958 | The Big Story | Vera | Episode: "The Small of Death" |
| The Walter Winchell File | Lois | Episode: "A Thing of Beauty: File #29" | |
| 1958–1959 | Naked City | Kathie Mills / Yankee Cretias | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | Deadline | Judy | Episode: "Victor Reisel" |
| 1961 | The Detectives | Gloria Tyler | Episode: "Act of God" |
| 1963 | Wide Country | Alma Prewitt | Episode: "Step Over the Sky" |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre | Charlotte Cable | Episode: "The Counterfeit League" | |
| 77 Sunset Strip | Helen Saunders | Episode: "The Left Field Caper" | |
| Perry Mason | Miss Frances | Episode: "The Case of the Shifty Shoebox" | |
| Mr. Novak | Mrs. Otis | Episode: "I Don't Even Live Here" | |
| Hazel | Sharlene | Episode: "George's 32nd Cousin" | |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Stella | Episode: "Come Watch Me Die" |
| The Great Adventure | Annie Thompson | Episode: "Rodger Young" | |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Cissy | Episode: "The Game with Glass Pieces" | |
| 1964–1967 | Gunsmoke | Bonnie Mae Haley / Lulu / Elena Kerlin | 3 episodes |
| 1966 | Daniel Boone | Ronda Cameron | Episode: "Seminole Territory" |
| Shane | Amy Sloate | Episode: "The Distant Bell" | |
| 1967 | The Big Valley | Muriel Akely | Episode: "Boy into Man" |
| 1968 | Ironside | Peggy Barnard | Episode: "Robert Phillips vs. the Man" |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Valerie Faber | Episode: "Old Tigers Never Die--They Just Run Away" |
| 1971–1972 | The Secret Storm | Kitty Styles #2 | Unknown episodes |
| 1973 | The Devil's Daughter | Alice Shaw | TV movie |
| 1975 | Movin' On | Amy | Episode: "General Delivery" |
| 1976 | City of Angels | Laura | Episode: "The November Plan: Part 1" |
| Addie and the King of Hearts | Irene Davis | TV movie | |
| 1977 | The November Plan | Laura Taylor | |
| 1978 | Black Beauty | Amelia Gordon | Miniseries |
| Thaddeus Rose and Eddie | Carlotta | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Willa | Mae | |
| 1980 | Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones | Lynette Jones | |
| 1980–1981 | Alice | Belle Dupree | 22 episodes |
| 1980–1985 | The Love Boat | Christa Johanson / Bernice Bronson / Ruby Gibson | 3 episodes |
| 1982 | Desperate Lives | Carol Cameron | TV movie |
| 1983 | Grace Kelly | Margaret Kelly | |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | Mother | Episode: "Little Red Riding Hood" | |
| 1984 | I Married a Centerfold | Jeanette Bryan | TV movie |
| 1985 | Crime of Innocence | Rose Hayward | |
| 1987 | Celebration Family | Mrs. Heflin | |
| 1988 | Bluegrass | Verna Howland | |
| 1989 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Arlene | Episode: "The Face in the Mirror Mystery" |
| Heartland | Marjorie | Episode: "B.L. Moves Out" | |
| 1990 | Rock Hudson | Kay | TV movie |
| In the Heat of the Night | Maybelle Cheseboro | Episode: "Home Is Where the Heart Is" | |
| The Lookalike | Mary Helen Needam | TV movie | |
| 1991 | Shadow of a Doubt | Emma | |
| 1992 | Middle Ages | Bebe Cooper | Episode: "Forever Young" |
| 1993 | L.A. Law | Celeste Bauman | Episode: "Cold Shower" |
| Harts of the West | Alison's Mom | Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Chow?" | |
| Sisters | Belle Adderly | Episode: "The Best Intentions" | |
| Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Charlotte Cooper | 2 episodes | |
| 1994–1997 | Grace Under Fire | Louise Burdette | |
| 1994 | Hush Little Baby | Edie | TV movie |
| The Gift | Evie | TV short | |
| 1996 | The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Irma Coulter | TV movie |
| Cold Lazarus | Martina Masdon | Miniseries; 3 episodes | |
| 1997 | Breach of Faith: A Family of Cops 2 | Aunt Shelly Fein | TV movie |
| Touched by an Angel | Carolyn Sellers | Episode: "An Angel by Any Other Name" | |
| Get a Clue | Berthe Erica Crow | TV movie | |
| 1998 | The Staircase | Sister Margaret | |
| 2000 | Best Actress | Herself | |
| Sharing the Secret | Nina's Mother | ||
| Strong Medicine | Annabelle Lee Stowe | 2 episodes | |
| Christy: Return to Cutter Gap | Alice Henderson | TV movie | |
| 2001 | Christy, Choices of the Heart | Alice Henderson | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Living with the Dead | Regina Van Praagh | TV movie |
| Damaged Care | Mary "Rhodie" Rhodes | ||
| 2003 | Aftermath | Mother | |
| 2004 | Gracie's Choice | Louela Lawson | |
| Kingdom Hospital | Sally Druse | 13 episodes | |
| 2005 | Cold Case | Zelda Amatuzzi (2005) | Episode: "Committed" |
| 2006 | ER | Mrs. Pooler | Episode: "No Place to Hide" |
| 2007 | Montana Sky | Bess | TV movie |
| 2008 | Mayerthorpe | Roszko's Mother | |
| 2011–2013 | Enlightened | Helen Jellicoe | 16 episodes |
| 2012 | Deadtime Stories | Barnsey | Episode: "Grave Secrets" |
| 2016 | Ray Donovan | Motel Lady | Episode: "Federal Boobie Inspector" |
| 2016–2022 | Chesapeake Shores | Nell O'Brien | 43 episodes |
| 2018 | Christmas Lost and Found | Grandma Frances | TV movie |
| 2021 | Young Sheldon | Hortense | Episode: "The Geezer Bus and a New Model for Education" |
