OJAI—On November 3, writer, actress, director, and producer, Diane Ladd passed away, at the age of 89 at her home in Ojai, California. Ladd was remembered most for the films she and her daughter, Laura Dern co-starred in over the years: “Rambling Rose,” “Citizen Ruth,” “Wild at Heart,” “White Lightning,” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”
Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner on November 29, 1935, to actor, Preston Paul Ladner and her stay at home mother, Mary Bernadette Ladner. She was raised Catholic in Meridian, Mississippi.
Reports indicate that Ladd was related to playwright and screenwriter, Tennessee Williams, who was most famous for his writings of, “The Glass Menagerie,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Ladd married her first husband, actor, Bruce Dern in 1960. They later divorced in 1969. The couple had two daughters. Diane Elizabeth died in a drowning accident at 18 months. Laura Elizabeth who became an actress. Ladd married to her second husband, William A Shae in 1969. They later divorced in 1977.
In 1999, she married the former CEO of PepsiCo Food Systems, Robert Charles Hunter. They remained married until his death on July 31, 2025, just several months before her death.
