Diane Keaton, who won an Oscar for her role as the quirky woman in Woody Allen’s *Annie Hall* and played the outsider Kay Adams-Corleone in the three *Godfather* movies by Francis Ford Coppola, has passed away. She was 79.
Her death in California was announced by *People* magazine.
TMZ reported that an ambulance arrived at her home around 8 a.m. on Saturday and took her to the hospital.
Keaton also acted as a playwright and mother who gets involved with a troubled man (Jack Nicholson) in *Something’s Gotta Give* (2003), earning her a fourth Oscar nomination for best actress.
She was also nominated for her role as a writer-activist in *Reds* (1981) and as a woman with leukemia in *Marvin’s Room* (1996).
She had a great performance as a Catholic school teacher who goes to singles bars in *Looking for Mr. Goodbar* (1977), starred in the thriller *The Little Drummer Girl* (1984), and played alongside Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek in the emotional *Crimes of the Heart* (1986).
She also played warm, quirky mothers in comedies like *Baby Boom* (1987) and the two *Father of the Bride* films from 1991 and 1995, and appeared in *The First Wives Club* (1996) with Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler, as well as the two *Book Club* movies with Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen in 2018 and 2023.
Woody Allen created the iconic, insecure character “la-di-dah” in *Annie Hall* (1977) especially for her, inspired by their real-life relationship.
(In *The Hollywood Reporter*’s original review, Arthur Knight said Keaton “has to be the consummate actress of our generation.”)
She also acted in several other films with Allen, including *Play It Again, Sam* (1972), *Sleeper* (1973), *Love and Death* (1975), *Interiors* (1978), *Manhattan* (1979), *Radio Days* (1987), and *Manhattan Murder Mystery* (1993).
The filmmaker called her his muse during a key part of his career.
Her unique style in *Annie Hall*, including menswear, ties, vests, fedoras, and baggy pants, created a lasting fashion trend.
She could also sing, and her smooth version of “Seems Like Old Times” in the film remains a favorite.
Throughout her life and career, Diane Keaton was known as a fun and charming person in interviews, making everyone around her feel comfortable with her half-formed sentences, giggles, and soft, shy voice.
On the day she was about to receive the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award in 2017, *The Hollywood Reporter*’s Sheri Linden praised her for her “unique blend of intelligence and heart, innocence and longing that has shaped dozens of roles over the past 45 years.”
Her “honest self-questioning, familiar to anyone who has seen her interviewed or read her memoirs, is key to her acting style, whether she’s playing a funny character, bringing a historical figure to life, or showing the everyday challenges of family and marriage.”
She didn’t need to be the main focus, even when she was the main character in *Annie Hall*, a film that celebrates her talent and spirit.
She made viewers feel connected effortlessly.
In a 2023 interview with *The Hollywood Reporter*’s Mia Galuppo, when asked what made a character worth playing, she said: “It’s someone who has issues that are really part of who she is.
It’s also about the people you work with—actors and directors. It all depends.
Certain people will let you be partially this or feel better about whatever you’re doing, instead of worrying about how everything will turn out.
But I’ve been in this for a long time, and I still love it.”
Born Diane Hall, the oldest of four children, in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, she was inspired to act by her mother, Dorothy, who once won the title “Mrs. Los Angeles” in a pageant for homemakers.
“I was a 6-year-old watching my mother at the Highland Park Theatre, which is still there, and I watched her win,” she said.
She performed in plays at Santa Ana College and later moved to New York, where she studied at The Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner.
She changed her last name to Keaton (her mother’s maiden name) because another actress had the same name.
Her first job in show business was in 1968 when she replaced someone in the original Broadway version of the musical *Hair*. However, she said she didn’t want to take off her clothes during the shows. She stayed in the show for nine months before trying out for *Play It Again, Sam*, a comedy by Allen. She got a Tony nomination in 1969 for her role, which involved having an affair with Allen’s character, a magazine writer.
She mentioned a big moment was getting a 1970 ad for Hour After Hour deodorant.
"That was the biggest job I ever had at the time," she shared. "At first, I was nervous, anxious, and tried hard to do the job. Over time, it became more normal."
Keaton made her movie debut in *Lovers and Other Strangers* (1970) as an unhappy wife.
She later played Kay Adams, Michael Corleone’s girlfriend, in *The Godfather* (1972). Linden described her role as being an outsider in a mafia family, a Baptist in a Catholic group, and a woman in a man’s world.
Getting cast by Coppola scared her.
She told Galuppo, "I didn’t understand why me. I went to the audition but hadn’t even read the script. That’s bad! But I needed a job, so I went up. I had been auditioning for a year, and then this happened. I kept thinking, 'Why me? Why would he cast me?' I still don’t really understand it."
In 1976, she acted in two comedies, *I Will, I Will… for Now* and *Harry and Walter Go to New York*, before *Annie Hall* came out.
She appeared in the *Godfather* sequels in 1974 and 1990, along with other films like *Shoot the Moon* (1982), *The Good Mother* (1988), *The Other Sister* (1999), *Town & Country* (2001), *The Family Stone* (2005), *Because I Said So* (2007), *5 Flights Up* (2014), and *Finding Dory* (2014).
She worked with Nancy Meyers on *Baby Boom*, the *Father of the Bride* series, and *Something’s Gotta Give*.
Keaton also directed movies like *Heaven* (1987), *Unstrung Heroes* (1995), and *Hanging Up* (2000).
She directed episodes for TV shows like *China Beach*, *Twin Peaks*, and *Pasadena*.
She said directing was tough.
"I thought I could do it, but it was really hard," she said. "Sometimes it was easier, and sometimes I was anxious. You need to be on your game and smart about what you’re working on. I get that as an actor, just by being part of the character."
She also produced films, including *Elephant* (2003) by Gus Van Sant.
Known for her style—trousers, turtlenecks, boots, big belts, and big hats—Keaton was also passionate about preserving old buildings.
Her writing and photography led to books about movie sets, old hotels, and California architecture. She loved renovating homes and was known as a "serial home flipper."
Her love for houses started when her father, Jack, was a real estate agent and she would go to open houses in L.A. "I always had an interest in homes and the idea of home, but I never really land and stay.
Something feels wrong, but something feels right because I love it," she told Wine Spectator in 2017.
She built a 8,000-square-foot home in Sullivan Canyon with burnt-red brick.
In her 2017 book, *The House That Pinterest Built*, she wrote about her dream home being inspired by *The Three Little Pigs* and said, "I knew I was going to live in a brick house when I grew up."
One of her famous renovations was a 1920s home in Pacific Palisades designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
She bought it in 2007 for $9.1 million and spent years restoring it to Wright’s original design, except for a new kitchen. It was listed for $12.8 million in May.
She is survived by her children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted in 1996 and 2001.
She never married, even though she dated Allen, Pacino, and Beatty. "I’m really glad I didn’t get married. I’m an oddball," she once told People.
About her acting career, she told Galuppo, "I feel just the same way I’ve always felt about whatever comes my way.
If it’s OK, then I can manage it. Or maybe if I feel like I’m not really that comfortable, I’m going to learn something from somebody."
