Beloved Actress Diane Keaton Dies

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Another Hollywood star has passed on to the other side.

Oscar winning actress Diane Keaton has passed away at the age of 79.

Details regarding the cause of her death have not been reported by her family.

Deadline reported more details on Keaton’s death and filmography:

Diane Keaton, the actress known for roles in Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died. She was 79.

The Oscar winner’s family revealed that she died in California, but no other details have yet been revealed. Keaton’s death was first reported by People.

Born Diane Hall on Jan. 5, 1946 in Los Angeles, Keaton moved to New York to pursue an entertainment career, studying acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse and making her Broadway debut as an understudy in Hair.

Keaton went on to star in Woody Allen’s production of Play It Again, Sam in 1969, earning a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Allen later cast her in her Oscar-winning role in Annie Hall (1977), also working together over the years in Manhattan (1979), Radio Days (1987) and Hollywood Mavericks (1990).

Tributes came pouring in for Keaton on X:

People Magazine provided a bio of her acting career:

Keaton rose to fame in the 1970s thanks to her role in The Godfather films and her collaborations with director Woody Allen. She won an Oscar for Best Actress for 1977’s Annie Hall. Her long career included movies like The First Wives Club, multiple collaborations with director Nancy Meyers and the Book Club franchise.

The actress was born in Los Angeles in 1946 as Diane Hall, and was the oldest of four children. Her father was a civil engineer, while her mom stayed at home.

Still, Keaton thought her mother dreamed of something bigger. “Secretly in her heart of hearts she probably wanted to be an entertainer of some kind,” the actress told PEOPLE in 2004. “She sang. She played the piano. She was beautiful. She was my advocate.”

Keaton performed in plays in high school, and after graduating in 1964, she pursued drama in college. But she soon dropped out and moved to New York to try to make her way in theater. She took her mother’s maiden name, Keaton, for her professional name, because there was already a Diane Hall registered with Actors’ Equity.

In 1968, Keaton was cast in Broadway’s Hair as the understudy for Sheila. In 2017, Keaton told PEOPLE that she struggled with bulimia during this time after the director of the show told her she needed to lose weight, though she didn’t blame him for her illness. “Believe me, it had to do with an overabundant need for more. Too much. It was a mental illness,” she said.

“I became a master at hiding. Hiding any evidence — how do you make sure no one knows? You live a lifestyle that is very strange. You’re living a lie,” she explained about her illness. She eventually recovered thanks to therapy, but said bulimia also robbed her of the ability to enjoy her time on Broadway.

Next, Keaton starred in Allen’s Broadway show Play It Again, Sam, which premiered in 1969. She received a Tony nomination for the role.

Woody Allen with actress, Diane Keaton, his girlfriend at the time, at the Hilton Hotel, London, 18th October 1970
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in 1970.

Her film debut was in 1970’s Lovers and Other Strangers, but her big break came when Francis Ford Coppola cast her as Kay Adams, the girlfriend of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, in The Godfather, released in 1972. The movie was based on the novel by Mario Puzo but Keaton didn’t read the bestseller before her audition and didn’t really know what the film was about.

“I think the kindest thing that someone’s ever done for me … is that I got cast to be in The Godfather and I didn’t even read it. I didn’t know a single thing,” she told PEOPLE in 2022. “I just was going around auditioning. I think that was amazing for me. And then I had to kind of read the book.”

The film was a massive success and won Best Picture at the Oscars. Keaton reprised her role in 1974’s The Godfather Part II, which was also a triumph and won Best Picture. She returned for 1990’s The Godfather Part III, the last film.

Keaton also continued to collaborate with Allen, appearing in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, released in 1972, 1973’s Sleeper and 1975’s Love and Death. Despite her early success, Keaton’s insecurities still plagued her, and she would never watch her own films. “I just don’t like the way I look and sound,” she told PEOPLE in 1975.

In 1977, Keaton starred in Allen’s Annie Hall as the title character. She won the Oscar for Best Actress for the role. Annie’s wardrobe mimicked Keaton’s own, full of menswear, vests, and structured trousers, and the film cemented the actress’s place as a style icon.



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