What Is Diane Ladd’s Net Worth, Career, Biography, Facts, Age, Life Story

Diane Ladd is an American actress, director, producer, and writer who has a net worth of $10 million. Ladd has more than 140 acting credits to her name, including the films “Chinatown” (1974), “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989), “Wild at Heart” (1990), “Rambling Rose” (1991), “Ghosts of Mississippi” (1996), “Primary Colors” (1998), and “Joy” (2015) and the television series “Alice” (1980–1981), “Kingdom Hospital” (2004), “Enlightened” (2011–2013), and “Chesapeake Shores” (2016–2019).

Diane wrote and directed the 1995 comedy “Mrs. Munck,” and she co-produced the 1995 film “Mother.” Ladd has published the books “Spiraling Through the School Of Life: A Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Discovery” (2006) and “A Bad Afternoon for a Piece of Cake” (2013). Ladd has also performed on Broadway in “Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights” (1968) and “A Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander” (1976), receiving a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Play for “A Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander.”

Early Life

Diane Ladd was born Rose Diane Ladner on November 29, 1935, in Laurel, Mississippi. The family lived in Meridian, Mississippi, but Ladd was born while they were visiting relatives in Laurel for Thanksgiving. Her mother, Mary, was an actress and housewife, and her father, Preston, was a veterinarian who sold products for livestock. Diane and her mother appeared together in the 1992 film “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.” Ladd grew up in a Catholic Christian household, and she is related to poet Sidney Lanier and playwright Tennessee Williams.

Career

Diane made her television debut in a 1949 episode of “The Big Story,” then she guest-starred on “Stanley” (1956), “The Walter Winchell File” (1958), “Naked City” (1958–1959), and “Deadline” (1959). Her film career began with uncredited roles in “Murder, Inc.” (1960), “Something Wild” (1961), and 40 Pounds of Trouble” (1962), then she appeared in “The Wild Angels” (1966) and “The Reivers” (1969). In the ’60s, Ladd guest-starred on “77 Sunset Strip” (1963), “Perry Mason” (1963), “The Fugitive” (1964), and “Gunsmoke” (1964–1967), and in 1971, she began playing Kitty Styles on the soap opera “The Secret Storm.” In 1974, she played Ida Sessions in “Chinatown” and Flo in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” and her performance as Flo earned her nominations from the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. During the last half of the ’70s, Diane appeared in the film “Embryo” (1976) and the TV movies “Addie and the King of Hearts” (1976), “The November Plan” (1977), “Thaddeus Rose and Eddie” (1978), and “Willa” (1979), and she played Amelia Gordon in the miniseries “Black Beauty” (1978). From 1980 to 1981, Ladd starred as Belle Dupree on the CBS sitcom “Alice” (which was based on “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”), winning a Golden Globe for her performance. She played Mrs. Nightshade in 1983’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” then she appeared in the films “Sweetwater” (1983), “Black Widow” (1987), and “Plain Clothes” (1987).

Diane played the mother of Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold in 1989’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” and she earned her second Academy Award nomination for 1990’s “Wild at Heart.” She appeared in the films “A Kiss Before Dying” (1991), “Forever” (1992), “Father Hood” (1993), “James Dean: Race with Destiny” (1997), and “Route 66” (1998), and she received her third Academy Award nomination for 1991’s “Rambling Rose.” Ladd played Grandma Caroline Moore in 1996’s “Ghosts of Mississippi” and Mamma Stanton in 1998’s “Primary Colors,” and she guest-starred on “In the Heat of the Night” (1990), “L.A. Law” (1993), “Sisters” (1993), “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” (1993), “Grace Under Fire” (1994; 1997), and “Touched by an Angel” (1997).

Diane co-starred with Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen in 2000’s “28 Days,” then she appeared in “Charlie’s War” (2003), “The World’s Fastest Indian” (2005), “Come Early Morning” (2006), and “American Cowslip” (2008). She starred in the TV movies “Best Actress” (2000), “Sharing the Secret” (2000), “Living with the Dead” (2002), “Aftermath” (2003), “Gracie’s Choice” (2004), and “Montana Sky” (2007), and she played Sally Druse on Stephen King’s “Kingdom Hospital” (2004). From 2011 to 2013, Ladd starred as Helen Jellicoe on HBO’s “Enlightened” alongside her daughter, Laura Dern, then she co-starred with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in the 2015 biographical film “Joy.” In 2016, she began starring as Nell O’Brien on the Hallmark Channel series “Chesapeake Shores,” which is based on  a series of novels by Sherryl Woods. In 2021, Diane appeared in the film “Charming the Hearts of Men” and guest-starred on “Young Sheldon.”

Personal Life

Diane was married to actor Bruce Dern from 1960 to 1969. Their daughter is actress Laura Dern. Laura is an Oscar-winning actress known for films such as “Jurassic Park,” “Wild,” and “Marriage Story,” and she and Diane starred together in “Rambling Rose,” “Wild at Heart,” and “Inland Empire.” Sadly, Ladd’s elder daughter, Diane Elizabeth, passed away at just 18 months old after falling into a swimming pool and hitting her head.

She was married to William A. Shea, Jr. from 1973 to 1976. Ladd has been married to Robert Charles Hunter since February 14, 1999.

Real Estate

In 1998, Diane and Robert paid $1.1 million for a 2.5-acre estate in Ojai, California. They tried to sell the 4,314 square foot home in 2008 for $4.495 million, and the asking price has changed several times over the years. In 2020, the asking price was reduced to $3.62 million. She finally sold the place in May 2021 for $3.1 million.