Rose Diane Ladner, known popularly as Diane Ladd, was born November 29, 1932, in Meridian, Mississippi. Although her parents, Mary Bernadette Anderson and Preston Paul Ladner, were not involved in show business themselves, Ladd still had creative blood in her lineage. She was a distant relative of American playwright Tennessee Williams.
Ladd made her onscreen debut in 1958 with a two-episode appearance in Naked City. For the next decade, Ladd’s career remained in the realm of television. Her first credited role in a film was The Wild Angels in 1966, opposite Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, and Bruce Dern. Finding steady work in television, she returned once again to appearing on various series until 1969 when she found herself opposite Steve McQueen in The Reivers.
At this point, Ladd’s film career really took off. She appeared in a slew of films until her truly breakout role in Roman Polanski’s 1974 masterpiece Chinatown. She starred opposite Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. She walked away a star.
In the same year, Ladd starred in the Martin Scorsese directed Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. The film starred Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Harvey Keitel, and Jodie Foster. Ladd walked away with her first Oscar nomination, but it was Burstyn that won Best Actress in a Leading Role. Ladd also spent a twenty-five episode stint on the television spin-off Alice from 1980 to 1981. Ladd, however, left the series unexpectedly due to her relationship with star Linda Lavin, which was rumored to be strained at best.
She found continued work through the remainder of the 80s, but it was her turn in the David Lynch directed film Wild at Heart in 1990 that really thrust her back into the spotlight. She co-starred with Hollywood power players Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, and Isabella Rossellini. She also earned her second Oscar nomination.
The following year, Ladd acted beside Wild at Heart co-star Dern and Robert Duvall in the film Rambling Rose. Both Dern and Ladd were nominated for Oscars that year.
Although Ladd has never recaptured the fame of her earlier years as an actress, she continues to be one of the most successful, talented, and sought after character actors working in show business today. Notable appearances include Mike Nichols’ political spoof Primary Colors, starring John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Kathy Bates as well as 28 Days, with Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi, and Alan Tudyk.
Most recently, Ladd could be seen in the film Montana Sky, with Ashley Williams and John Corbett.
In her personal life, Ladd has been married three times. Her first marriage was to fellow actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969. Their only child was current acting star Laura Dern. Her second marriage, to William A Shea Jr, lasted from 1969 to 1977. She is currently married to Robert Charles Hunter. They wed on Valentine’s Day 1999.
YUDDY
