Diane Ladd

Overview

Born
November 29, 1935 · Laurel, Mississippi, USA
Died
November 3, 2025 · Ojai, California, USA (chronic hypoxic respiratory failure)
Birth name
Rose Diane Ladnier
Height
5′ 7″ (1.70 m)

The amazingly gifted and versatile Ms. Diane Ladd received immense praise for her dramatic efforts throughout the course of her electric and unique seventy-year career. Her timeless offbeat charm and beauty reminiscent of a lamented Hollywood Golden Era actress gleam in the most understated roles and continue to make her a sought-after unconventional performer.
- IMDb mini biography by: arv.0705@gmail.com

Had two daughters with ex-husband Bruce Dern. Her first daughter, Diane Elizabeth Dern was born on November 27, 1960, tragically died at the age of 17 1/2 months after accidentally falling into the family pool and hitting her head causing a massive brain hemorrhage, years before second daughter, Laura Dern, was born in 1967.
Was a chorus girl at New York City's Copacabana in the 1950s.
Has played mother to real-life daughter Laura Dern five times: White Lightning (1973), Wild at Heart (1990), Citizen Ruth (1996), Daddy and Them (2001) and the television series Enlightened (2011).
Has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress three times (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Wild at Heart (1990) and Rambling Rose (1991)). All three movies also starred her daughter Laura Dern.
Appeared in the film Carnosaur (1993), the same year that her daughter, Laura Dern, appeared in another dinosaur film, Jurassic Park (1993).

[on Jean Seberg during the making of Macho Callahan (1970)] She was terribly sensitive, almost like a little girl. We shot in a village outside Mexico City one day, and they set up tables for the cast and crew to eat. These skinny dogs wandered over, and Jean started to feed them off her plate. Someone snapped that you don't do that - not when there were people going hungry. Jean looked awfully hurt and didn't eat for two days after that. I personally considered her a great lady and a wonderful human being. A lady of sensitive, thought-out, careful choice and depth, and select caring.
I was really upset and chagrined by the studios' greed and corruption of putting leading lady stars into my Oscar category of best supporting.
I'm not an actor. I'm a teacher. The screen or the stage is my blackboard, and so whatever I taught is what's in you. It's reflecting you, saint or sinner, male or female, child or old person. I'm reflecting parts of your soul, parts of who you are. The work is for you.

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