Diane Ladd

Acting

The MovieWise Take

Refining cinematic analysis...

Biography

Diane Ladd (born Rose Diane Ladner; November 29, 1935 – November 3, 2025) was an American actress. She appeared in over 200 films and television shows, receiving 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 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 include 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.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Diane Ladd, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Joy

Mimi

Chinatown

Ida Sessions

Young Sheldon

Hortense

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Nora

Wild at Heart

Marietta Fortune

Inland Empire

Marilyn Levens

28 Days

Bobbie Jean

Mrs. Pooler

Full Filmography

Year	Title	Role
2022	Isle of Hope MOVIE	Carmen
2022	Gigi & Nate MOVIE	Mama Blanche
2020	Charlie's Christmas Wish MOVIE	Nana
2020	The Last Full Measure MOVIE	Alice Pitsenbarger
2018	Christmas Lost and Found MOVIE	Grandma Frances
2018	Olympia MOVIE	Herself
2017	Young Sheldon TV	Hortense
2016	Chesapeake Shores TV	Nell O'Brien
2016	I Dream Too Much MOVIE	Vera
2016	AmeriGeddon MOVIE	Betty
2016	Sophie and the Rising Sun MOVIE	Ruth Jeffers
2015	Joy MOVIE	Mimi
2015	Just Before I Go MOVIE	Mamma (uncredited)
2013	Ray Donovan TV	Motel Lady
2012	Deadtime Stories: Grave Secrets MOVIE	Barnsey
2011	Enlightened TV	Helen Jellicoe
2009	Celebrity Ghost Stories TV	Self
2009	American Cowslip MOVIE	Roe
2008	Jake's Corner MOVIE	Fran
2008	Mayerthorpe MOVIE	Roszko's mother
2007	Lynch 2 MOVIE	Self
2007	Nora Roberts' Montana Sky MOVIE	Bess
2006	Inland Empire MOVIE	Marilyn Levens
2006	When I Find the Ocean MOVIE	Edna
2006	Come Early Morning MOVIE	Nana
2005	The World's Fastest Indian MOVIE	Ada
2004	Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart MOVIE	Self
2004	Kingdom Hospital MOVIE	Sally Druse
2004	Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital TV	Sally Druse
2004	Gracie's Choice MOVIE	Louela Lawson
2003	Cold Case TV	Zelda Amatuzzi (2005)
2003	Charlie's War MOVIE	Jobie
2003	A Long Way Home MOVIE	Mother
2002	Living with the Dead MOVIE	Regina Van Praagh
2002	Living with the Dead TV	Regina Van Praagh
2002	Redemption of the Ghost MOVIE	Self
2001	Daddy and Them MOVIE	Jewel
2001	Rain MOVIE	Audrey Turnquick
2001	Christy: Choices of the Heart TV	Self
2000	Can't Be Heaven MOVIE	Nona Gina
2000	The Law of Enclosures MOVIE	Bea
2000	Strong Medicine TV	Annabelle Lee Stowe
2000	Sharing the Secret MOVIE	Nina's Mother
2000	28 Days MOVIE	Bobbie Jean
2000	Best Actress MOVIE	Self
2000	More Than Puppy Love MOVIE	Aunt Edna
1998	The Staircase MOVIE	Sister Margaret
1998	Primary Colors MOVIE	Mamma Stanton
1997	James Dean: Race with Destiny MOVIE	Mama Pierangeli
1997	The Westing Game MOVIE	Berthe Erica Crow
1997	Breach of Faith: A Family of Cops II MOVIE	Aunt Shelly
1996	Ghosts of Mississippi MOVIE	Grandma Caroline Moore
1996	Citizen Ruth MOVIE	Ruth's Mother (uncredited)
1996	Cold Lazarus TV	Martina Masdon
1996	The Siege at Ruby Ridge MOVIE	Irma Coulter
1995	Raging Angels MOVIE	Sister Kate
1995	Mrs. Munck MOVIE	Mrs. Munck
1995	Mother MOVIE	Olivia Hendrix
1994	Touched by an Angel TV	Carolyn Sellers
1994	ER TV	Mrs. Pooler
1994	Hush Little Baby MOVIE	Edie
1993	Father Hood MOVIE	Rita
1993	Carnosaur MOVIE	Dr. Jane Tiptree
1993	The Cemetery Club MOVIE	Lucille Rubin
1993	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman TV	Charlotte Cooper
1992	Spies, Inc. MOVIE	Alice
1992	Vicki! TV	Self
1992	Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me MOVIE	Lucille
1992	Forever MOVIE	Mabel Normand
1991	Pebble Mill TV	Self
1991	Rambling Rose MOVIE	Mrs. Hillyer
1991	Sisters TV	Self
1991	Shadow of a Doubt MOVIE	Emma Spencer Newton
1991	A Kiss Before Dying MOVIE	Mrs. Corliss
1990	The Lookalike MOVIE	Mary Helen Needam
1990	Wild at Heart MOVIE	Marietta Fortune
1990	Rock Hudson MOVIE	Kay
1989	National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation MOVIE	Nora
1989	Father Dowling Mysteries TV	Self
1988	Plain Clothes MOVIE	Jane Melway
1988	Bluegrass TV	Verna Howland
1987	Celebration Family MOVIE	Mrs. Heflin
1987	Black Widow MOVIE	Etta
1986	L.A. Law TV	Celeste Bauman
1985	Crime of Innocence MOVIE	Rose Hayward
1984	I Married a Centerfold MOVIE	Jeanette Bryan
1983	Little Red Riding Hood MOVIE	Mother
1983	Something Wicked This Way Comes MOVIE	Mrs. Nightshade
1983	Grace Kelly MOVIE	Margaret Kelly
1982	Faerie Tale Theatre TV	Mother
1982	Desperate Lives MOVIE	Carol Cameron
1981	All Night Long MOVIE	Helen Dupler
1980	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones TV	Lynette Jones
1979	Willa MOVIE	Mae
1978	Thaddeus Rose and Eddie MOVIE	Carlotta
1978	Black Beauty TV	Amelia Gordon
1977	The Love Boat TV	Ruby Gibson
1977	The Love Boat TV	Bernice Bronson
1977	The November Plan MOVIE	Laura Taylor
1976	Battle of the Network Stars TV	Self
1976	Alice TV	Belle Dupree
1976	Embryo MOVIE	Martha Douglas
1976	City of Angels TV	Self
1976	Addie and the King of Hearts MOVIE	Irene Davis
1974	Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore MOVIE	Flo
1974	Movin' On TV	Self
1974	Chinatown MOVIE	Ida Sessions
1973	White Lightning MOVIE	Maggie
1973	The Devil's Daughter MOVIE	Alice Shaw
1971	The Steagle MOVIE	Mrs. Roberta Forbes
1971	Macho Callahan MOVIE	Girl
1970	Rebel Rousers MOVIE	Karen
1969	The Reivers MOVIE	Phoebe
1969	Then Came Bronson TV	Valerie Faber
1967	Ironside TV	Peggy Barnard
1966	Shane TV	Amy Sloate
1966	The Wild Angels MOVIE	Gaysh
1965	The Big Valley TV	Muriel Akely
1964	Daniel Boone TV	Ronda Cameron
1963	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre TV	Cissy
1963	The Great Adventure TV	Annie Thompson
1963	Mr. Novak TV	Mrs. Otis
1963	The Fugitive TV	Stella
1962	40 Pounds of Trouble MOVIE	Honeymoon Bride (uncredited)
1962	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson TV	Self
1961	The Mike Douglas Show TV	Self - Guest
1960	Murder, Inc. MOVIE	Showgirl
1959	The Detectives TV	Self
1958	77 Sunset Strip TV	Self
1958	Naked City TV	Yankee Cretias
1958	Naked City TV	Kathie Mills
1957	Decoy TV	Selma Richmond
1957	The Walter Winchell File TV	Lois
1957	Perry Mason TV	Miss Frances
1955	Gunsmoke TV	Elena
1955	Gunsmoke TV	Lulu
1955	Gunsmoke TV	Bonnie Mae Haley
1953	The Oscars TV	Self
1951	Hallmark Hall of Fame TV	Emma Newton
1944	Golden Globe Awards TV	Self - Nominee
1944	Golden Globe Awards TV	Self - Audience Member

Quick Facts

Diane Ladd

The MovieWise Take

Biography

Known For

Full Filmography

Cinema in your inbox.