‘Wild at Heart’ Star Dies at 89

Diane Ladd, the award-winning actress known for her roles in Wild at Heart, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and Rambling Rose, has died at the age of 89.

Her daughter, actress Laura Dern, shared the sad news on Monday, November 3, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai, Calif. She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created. We were blessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Ladd was born on November 29, 1935, in Laurel, Mississippi. She was the only child of veterinarian Preston Paul Ladner and actress Mary Bernadette Ladner. From a young age, she loved performing, acting, dancing, and singing. When she began working in Hollywood, she shortened her last name from Ladner to Ladd.

She appeared in many television shows during the 1950s and 1960s, including Naked City, Perry Mason, and Mr. Novak. Her first film credit came in 1966 with the crime drama The Wild Angels, which also starred Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, and Peter Fonda.

Ladd’s acting career spanned decades and earned her three Oscar nominations and three Emmy nominations. She was known for her powerful performances and strong presence on screen.

Her personal life, however, was marked by both love and tragedy. Ladd married actor Bruce Dern in 1960, and they had two daughters, Diane and Laura. Their first daughter, Diane, died in a swimming pool accident at just 18 months old.

Ladd once spoke about the loss in an interview with CBS News in 2023, saying, “She hit her head and knocked herself out. And it all happened instantly. And she died, and you will never get over that. I don’t care what you say to yourself. I don’t care who says what. The child is not supposed to die before the parent.”

In a 1992 interview with Parade, Ladd said that her daughter’s death deeply affected her marriage. “We suffered the tragedy of our daughter’s death together and thought another child would help us, but we were so bruised,” she explained.

After divorcing Dern in 1969, she raised Laura mostly on her own. “I was terrified, being on my own with Laura. I had to force myself not to be overly protective because I had lost one child. The result was that it worked the other way. I allowed her to be a free thinker, and that helped her become her own person.”

Ladd later married William A. Shea Jr. in 1969, and they were together until 1977. In 1999, she married her third husband, Robert Charles Hunter, and they remained together until his death earlier this year, just three months before hers.

In 2018, Ladd faced serious health problems after being misdiagnosed with pneumonia. Doctors told her she had less than a year to live after she inhaled toxic chemicals from nearby farms. Her daughter Laura moved her to another hospital, where she made a full recovery.

Over the years, Ladd became known not just for her acting but also for her warmth, creativity, and strong spirit. She supported social causes, including Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, and continued to act well into her later years.

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