4 Great Diane Ladd Movies to Watch Now: 'Christmas Vacation' and More

While her daughter, Laura Dern, may be more of a household name to younger generations, the late Diane Ladd was a powerhouse actress with a career spanning over 70 years.

On November 3, Ladd passed away at her home at the age of 89.

In the wake of her passing, fans of Ladd’s have been looking over her career and recalling some of her standout performances. Watch With Us would like to join the chorus.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ladd or just want to celebrate her storied career, we’ve got four picks of both movies and shows that highlight the legacy she’s left behind.

‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ (1974)

Ladd had a major career breakthrough with Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which landed her the first of three Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Ladd played Flo Castlebury, a tough-talking waitress at Mel’s Diner who serves some sharp zingers along with some greasy hamburgers. She befriends Ellen Burstyn’s Alice, a single mother looking to reinvent herself after her husband dies in a car accident. Flo shows Alice the tricks of her trade and offers some sage advice about her burgeoning romance with Kris Kristofferson’s hunky rancher David.

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A classic supporting part, Flo remains Ladd’s most enduring creation. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore spawned a successful CBS sitcom called Alice, where Polly Holliday took over for Ladd as Flo, who became enough of a fan-favorite to star in her own self-titled spinoff that lasted for two seasons. In an odd turn of events, Ladd joined the cast of Alice in season 4 as Belle Dupree, another tough cookie waitress in the Flo mold. Ladd would go on to have a significant career in television, appearing in such hits as L.A. Law, Touched by an Angel, Kingdom Hospital, ER and Young Sheldon.

Rent or purchase Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore on Prime Video.

‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ (1989)

Ladd’s most popular film is probably National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the third entry in the Chevy Chase-led franchise that’s morphed over the years into a perennial holiday classic. Ladd pops up about midway through the film as Nora Griswold, Clark’s old-fashioned mom, who promises her grandson an entire quarter if he’ll rub her feet.

Another supporting part, Ladd makes Nora the ideal grandmother everyone wishes for — warm, a little out of touch and ready to beat a squirrel to death if need be. (Don’t ask.) Is Christmas Vacation Ladd’s best film? No, of course not. But it’s a fun and funny holiday movie to revisit year after year, and she has a permanent place in the minds and hearts of generations of fans with her work in this film.

Stream National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on HBO Max.

‘Wild at Heart’ (1990)

Passionate lovers Lula (Dern) and Sailor (Nicolas Cage) are separated when Sailor is jailed for stabbing a man in self-defense. Nearly two years later, Lula picks Sailor up upon his release, and together they decide to run off to California despite it breaking Sailor’s parole. Desperate to keep them apart, Lula’s mother, Marietta (Ladd), hires a hit man and a private investigator to track and kill Sailor and bring Lula back home.

In the type of unhinged and surreal performance that befits a David Lynch film, Ladd absolutely shines in the role of the murderous Marietta, and the image of Ladd’s face covered in bright red lipstick is iconic. Hysterical, terrifying and also undeniably sad, Ladd gives a performance that possibly no one else could’ve accomplished – for that, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Rent or purchase Wild at Heart on Prime Video.

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‘Rambling Rose’ (1991)

Another film that features both Ladd and Dern, the duo would end up being nominated for Academy Awards — for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively. This made them the first mother-daughter duo to be nominated for an Oscar for the same film. Rambling Rose is set during the Great Depression and follows domestic worker Rose (Dern), who comes to work for Mr. and Mrs. Hillyer (Ladd and Robert Duvall) and their family. But drama ensues when Rose develops romantic feelings for Mr. Hillyer.

Praised for its bittersweet narrative, warm humor and fantastic acting, Rambling Rose is an absorbing character drama that pushed Dern forward as a formidable up-and-coming acting talent, nepotism be damned. The film also succeeds as a nuanced portrayal of female sexuality and family dynamics during a time as fraught and repressed as the 1930s.

Rent or purchase Rambling Rose on Prime Video.