Is Diane Ladd Related to Cheryl Ladd?
David Richardson
Diane Ladd and Cheryl Ladd both became stars of the screen in the 1970s. Are the two actresses related?
There is no relation between Diane Ladd and Cheryl Ladd. Diane was born Rose Diane Ladner and Cheryl was born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor. They have worked together in two TV movies: “Grace Kelly” in 1983, where Cheryl portrayed Grace Kelly and Diane played her mother, Margaret, and 1988’s “Bluegrass”.
For more information on Diane Ladd and Cheryl Ladd, read on.
Diane Ladd
Rose Diane Ladner was born in Laurel, Mississippi on November 29, 1935. Her parents were Preston Paul Ladner, a veterinarian, and Mary Bernadette, an actress, and housewife.
Her family lived in Meridian, Mississippi but were in Laurel for Thanksgiving when Ladd was born. Mary was a Roman Catholic and Ladd was raised in the faith.
Ladd married Bruce Dern in 1969 and had two daughters, Diane, who died during infancy, and Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern. Diane and Laura starred together in two David Lynch films, as well as a couple of other projects.
Ladd and Dern divorced in 1969. She married William Shea Jr. in the same year, divorcing him seven years later, then Robert Charles Hunter, who she married in 1999 and has remained with.
Diane Ladd has been a prolific actress, with more than 120 film and TV credits in a career that has lasted more than sixty years.
In 2010, Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern, and Laura Dern were all awarded adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first time the members of a family have been placed together in this fashion.
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor was born in Huron, South Dakota on July 12, 1951. Her parents were Marion Stoppelmoor, a railroad engineer, and Dolores Katz, a waitress.
Ladd was a musician in her youth, joining a band called “The Music Shop” after graduating from high school. She moved to Hollywood in the hope of pursuing a career in music, using the name Cherie Moor.
She lent her singing voice to Melody in the “Josie and the Pussycats” cartoon by Hanna-Barbera. Cheryl gradually increased her non-singing roles and had guest spots on “The Muppet Show”, “Happy Days” and “The Partridge Family”.
In 1973, Cheryl married David Ladd, an actor, and took his surname, continuing to use it as her legal and stage name long after they divorced in 1980. They had a daughter together, Jordan, who was born in 1975.
In 1977, after Farrah Fawcett left “Charlie’s Angels”, Ladd was cast as Kris Munroe, the younger sister of Fawcett’s character Jill. She was the second longest-serving Angel after Jaclyn Smith, who was with the show for its entire run, with Ladd staying with the show until it ended after its fifth season.
Ladd used her newfound fame to further her music career; she performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl XIV in 1980. She has continued to have a successful TV career, starring in more than 30 made for TV movies and having frequent guest spots in popular shows.
In 1981, Ladd married Brian Russell, a music producer, and has a stepdaughter from Russell’s previous marriage.
Relation
As is probably already evident, there is no familial relation between Diane Ladd and Cheryl Ladd. Neither woman’s birth name is Ladd, with Diane’s surname being shortened from Ladner and Cheryl’s surname taken from her first husband.
They have, however, appeared in two TV movies together. The first of these was in 1983’s “Grace Kelly”, where Cheryl portrayed Grace Kelly and Diane played her mother, Margaret. They also appeared together in 1988’s “Bluegrass”, a drama about horseracing.
