All about Diane Ladd on her birthday

The great actress Diane Ladd turns 88 today and I’m sharing with you some scenes from her three Oscar-nominated performances.

The mother of Oscar winner Laura Dern 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 of Belle during her single season 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).

As good as she is in these films, I think the most compelling character is just being herself! I love watching her in interviews and last April, saw her in person when she and her daughter appeared before a packed house at USC’s Bovard Auditorium during the LA Times Festival of Books to discuss their joint memoir Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding.

Enjoy the scenes. She’s such a hoot as Flo!