Diane Ladd (born Rose Diane Ladner; November 29, 1935) is an American actress. She has appeared in over 200 films and television shows. She received three Academy Award nominations for her roles in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Wild at Heart (1990), and Rambling Rose (1991), the first of which won her a British Academy Film 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).
Diane Ladd | |
|---|---|
 Ladd in 1975 | |
| Born | Rose Diane Ladner November 29, 1935 Laurel, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1956–present |
| Spouses | William Shea Jr.
(m. 1969; div. 1977)Robert Hunter (m. 1999) |
| Children | 2, including Laura Dern |
| Awards | Hollywood Walk of Fame |
| Website | dianeladd |
Ladd's other film appearances include Chinatown (1974), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Primary Colors (1998), 28 Days (2000), and Joy (2015). She is the mother of actress Laura Dern, with her ex-husband, actor Bruce Dern.
Personal life
edit
Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner, the only child of Mary Bernadette Ladner (née Anderson), a housewife and actress, and Preston Paul Ladner, a veterinarian who sold products for poultry and livestock.[1][2][3][4] She was born in Laurel, Mississippi on November 29, 1935, while the family was visiting relatives for Thanksgiving, though they lived in Meridian, Mississippi.[1][5] Ladd is related to playwright Tennessee Williams[6] and poet Sidney Lanier.[7] Ladd was raised in her mother's Catholic faith.[8][9]
Ladd was married to actor and one-time co-star Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969. They had two daughters, Diane Elizabeth, who died at age eighteen months after a drowning accident, and Laura Elizabeth, who became an actress.[10][11] Ladd and Laura Dern co-starred in the films, Wild at Heart, Rambling Rose, Citizen Ruth and Inland Empire, and in the HBO series Enlightened. The two also appeared together in White Lightning and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, although Laura was uncredited in both.
Ladd was previously married to William A. Shea Jr. from 1969 to 1977. She married her current husband, Robert Charles Hunter, in 1999.[10] Ladd was supportive of Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign.[12]
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.[13] Her daughter, Laura, transferred her to another hospital where she made a full recovery.[14]
Career
editIn 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 include 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.[15]
In 2004, Ladd played psychic Mrs. Druse in the television miniseries of Stephen King's Kingdom 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 the Lifetime Television film Montana Sky.
In addition to her Academy Award nomination for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, she was also nominated (again in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category) for both Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose, both of which she starred alongside her daughter Laura Dern. Dern received a nomination for Best Actress for Rambling Rose. The dual mother and daughter nominations for Ladd and Dern in Rambling Rose marked the first time in Academy Awards history that such an event had occurred. They were also nominated for dual Golden Globe Awards in the same year.
Ladd has also worked in theatre. She made her Broadway debut in Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights in 1968. In 1976, she starred in A Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander, for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination.[16]
On November 1, 2010, Ladd, Laura Dern, and Bruce Dern received adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; this is the first time family members have been given such consideration on the Walk. Ladd's star is the 2,421st.
She starred in the Hallmark Channel series Chesapeake Shores.[17]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| 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 | |
| 1969 | The Reivers | Phoebe | |
| 1970 | The Rebel Rousers | Karen | Shot in 1967 |
| 1970 | Macho Callahan | Girl | |
| 1970 | WUSA | Barmaid at Railroad Station | Uncredited |
| 1971 | The Steagle | Mrs. Forbes | |
| 1973 | White Lightning | Maggie | Credited as Diane Lad |
| 1974 | Chinatown | Ida Sessions | |
| 1974 | Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Flo | |
| 1976 | Embryo | Martha Douglas | |
| 1981 | All Night Long | Helen Dupler | |
| 1983 | Something Wicked This Way Comes | Mrs. Nightshade | |
| 1983 | Sweetwater | Lucy | |
| 1987 | Black Widow | Etta | |
| 1987 | 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 | |
| 1991 | Rambling Rose | Mother | |
| 1992 | Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me | Lucille | |
| 1992 | Forever | Mabel Normand | |
| 1992 | Spies Inc. | Alice | |
| 1993 | The Cemetery Club | Lucille Rubin | |
| 1993 | Carnosaur | Dr. Jane Tiptree | |
| 1993 | Father Hood | Rita | |
| 1995 | Mother | Olivia Hendrix | Also co-producer |
| 1995 | Mrs. Munck | Mrs. Munck | Also writer and director |
| 1995 | Raging Angels | Sister Kate | |
| 1996 | Citizen Ruth | Ruth's Mother | Uncredited |
| 1996 | Ghosts of Mississippi | Grandma Caroline Moore | |
| 1997 | James Dean: Race with Destiny | Mama Pierangeli | |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | Mamma Stanton | |
| 1998 | Route 66 | ||
| 1999 | Can't Be Heaven | Nona Gina | |
| 2000 | 28 Days | Bobbie Jean | |
| 2000 | The Law of Enclosures | Bea | |
| 2001 | Daddy and Them | Jewel | |
| 2001 | Rain | Audrey Turnquick | |
| 2002 | Redemption of the Ghost | Aunt Helen | |
| 2002 | More than Puppy Love | Aunt Edna | |
| 2002 | The Virgin | ||
| 2003 | Charlie's War | Jobie | |
| 2005 | The World's Fastest Indian | Ada | |
| 2006 | Come Early Morning | Nana | |
| 2006 | When I Find the Ocean | Edna | |
| 2006 | Inland Empire | Marilyn Levens | |
| 2008 | Jake's Corner | Fran | |
| 2008 | American Cowslip | Roe | |
| 2013 | Grave Secrets | Emily Barnes | |
| 2014 | Just Before I Go | Mamma | Uncredited |
| 2015 | I Dream Too Much | Vera | |
| 2015 | Joy | Mimi | |
| 2016 | Sophie and the Rising Sun | Ruth Jeffers | |
| 2016 | Amerigeddon | Betty | |
| 2016 | Boonville Redemption | Grandma Mary | |
| 2019 | The Last Full Measure | Alice Pitsenbarger | |
| 2020 | Charlie's Christmas Wish | Nana | |
| 2021 | Charming the Hearts of Men[18] | Alice Paul | Uncredited |
| 2022 | Gigi & Nate | Mama Blanche |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Decoy | Selma Richmond | Episode: "Two Days to Kill" |
| 1958 | The Big Story | Vera | Episode: "The Small of Death" |
| 1958 | 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" |
| 1963 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Charlotte Cable | Episode: "The Counterfeit League" |
| 1963 | 77 Sunset Strip | Helen Saunders | Episode: "The Left Field Caper" |
| 1963 | Perry Mason | Miss Frances | Episode: "The Case of the Shifty Shoebox" |
| 1963 | Mr. Novak | Mrs. Otis | Episode: "I Don't Even Live Here" |
| 1963 | Hazel | Sharlene | Episode: "George's 32nd Cousin" |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Stella | Episode: "Come Watch Me Die" |
| 1964 | The Great Adventure | Annie Thompson | Episode: "Rodger Young" |
| 1964 | 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" |
| 1966 | 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" |
| 1976 | Addie and the King of Hearts | Irene Davis | TV movie |
| 1977 | The November Plan | Laura Taylor | TV movie |
| 1978 | Black Beauty | Amelia Gordon | Miniseries |
| 1978 | Thaddeus Rose and Eddie | Carlotta | TV movie |
| 1979 | Willa | Mae | TV movie |
| 1980 | Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones | Lynette Jones | TV movie |
| 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 | TV movie |
| 1983 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Mother | Episode: "Little Red Riding Hood" |
| 1984 | I Married a Centerfold | Jeanette Bryan | TV movie |
| 1985 | Crime of Innocence | Rose Hayward | TV movie |
| 1987 | Celebration Family | Mrs. Heflin | TV movie |
| 1988 | Bluegrass | Verna Howland | TV movie |
| 1989 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Arlene | Episode: "The Face in the Mirror Mystery" |
| 1989 | Heartland | Marjorie | Episode: "B.L. Moves Out" |
| 1990 | Rock Hudson | Kay | TV movie |
| 1990 | In the Heat of the Night | Maybelle Cheseboro | Episode: "Home Is Where the Heart Is" |
| 1990 | The Lookalike | Mary Helen Needam | TV movie |
| 1991 | Shadow of a Doubt | Emma | TV movie |
| 1992 | Middle Ages | Bebe Cooper | Episode: "Forever Young" |
| 1993 | L.A. Law | Celeste Bauman | Episode: "Cold Shower" |
| 1993 | Harts of the West | Alison's Mom | Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Chow?" |
| 1993 | Sisters | Belle Adderly | Episode: "The Best Intentions" |
| 1993 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Charlotte Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 1994–1997 | Grace Under Fire | Louise Burdette | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Hush Little Baby | Edie | TV movie |
| 1994 | The Gift | Evie | TV short |
| 1996 | The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Irma Coulter | TV movie |
| 1996 | Cold Lazarus | Martina Masdon | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 1997 | Breach of Faith: A Family of Cops 2 | Aunt Shelly Fein | TV movie |
| 1997 | Touched by an Angel | Carolyn Sellers | Episode: "An Angel by Any Other Name" |
| 1997 | Get a Clue | Berthe Erica Crow | TV movie |
| 1998 | The Staircase | Sister Margaret | TV movie |
| 2000 | Best Actress | Herself | TV movie |
| 2000 | Sharing the Secret | Nina's Mother | TV movie |
| 2000 | Strong Medicine | Annabelle Lee Stowe | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | 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 |
| 2002 | Damaged Care | Mary "Rhodie" Rhodes | TV movie |
| 2003 | Aftermath | Mother | TV movie |
| 2004 | Gracie's Choice | Louela Lawson | TV movie |
| 2004 | 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 | TV movie |
| 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" |
Awards and nominations
editBooks
edit- Ladd, Diane (2006). Spiraling Through the School of Life: A Mental, Physical, And Spiritual Discovery. Hay House Inc. ISBN 978-1-401-90719-8.
- Ladd, Diane (2016). A Bad Afternoon for a Piece of Cake. Exxcell Press. ISBN 978-0-981-79206-4.
- Dern, Laura; Ladd, Diane (2023). Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding). Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-538-72037-0.
References
edit- ^ a b Davis Davidson, June; Putnam, Richelle (2013). Legendary Locals of Meridian. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4671-0079-3. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ "Diane Ladd". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007.
- ^ "Obituaries for the week ending May 31, 2002: Mary Bernadette Ladner Garey". Ojai Valley News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ "Spiral Through Life With Diane Ladd". Life After 50. September 4, 2012. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016.
- ^ Ownby, Ted; Wilson, Charles Reagan; Abadie, Ann J.; Lindsey, Odie; James G Thomas JR (May 25, 2017). The Mississippi Encyclopedia. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-4968-1157-8.
- ^ "Diane Ladd: Southern Eccentric with Steel Beneath the Stories". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 19, 1993. p. 5G. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ "Riding The Crest Of Two Widely Praised Perform". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, CA. September 20, 1991. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018.
- ^ "Thomas Hubbard: Profile". Tavis Smiley. PBS. July 10, 2006. Archived from the original on March 22, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ Hoge, Warren (September 23, 1976). "Diane Ladd Savors 'Top of World'" Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
- ^ a b Day, Patrick Kevin (October 29, 2010). "Diane Ladd". Hollywood Star Walk. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ Jordan, Julie (April 25, 2023). "How a Life-Threatening Health Crisis Led Laura Dern and Mom Diane Ladd to 'Talk About Things We'd Left Unsaid'". People (Interview). Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "Campaign '88 Gets the Star Treatment". Los Angeles Times. June 7, 1988.
- ^ Staff, Closer (May 10, 2020). "Diane Ladd, 84, Reveals Why She 'Will Never Retire'". Closer Weekly. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ Watch Access Hollywood Interview: How Laura Dern Saved Her Mother Diane Ladd's Life: 'I'm Lucky to Be Here', NBC, July 27, 2019, retrieved August 27, 2022
- ^ a b Thomas, Kevin (July 30, 1993). "Romantic 'Hold Me, Thrill Me' a Breezy Minor Diversion". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ Internet Broadway Database profile Archived March 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Ibdb.com; retrieved July 31, 2011.
- ^ "Interview - Diane Ladd - Nell O'Brien - Chesapeake Shores". Hallmark Channel. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (June 21, 2021). "'Charming The Hearts Of Men', Starring Kelsey Grammer & Anna Friel, Gets U.S. Release Date In Gravitas Ventures Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
External links
edit
- Diane Ladd at IMDb
- Diane Ladd at Rotten Tomatoes
- Diane Ladd at the TCM Movie Database
- Diane Ladd at the Internet Broadway Database
- Diane Ladd at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Diane Ladd at Playbill Vault
- Diane Ladd biography; revised August 10, 2024
