Legendary actress Diane Keaton has died at the age of 79.
At this moment, no further information is available, and her family has requested privacy, as reported by a spokesperson to People magazine, the first to announce this news.
Keaton was the kind of actress who contributed to making films unforgettable and enduring. From her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” line as Annie Hall, dressed in her signature necktie, bowler hat, vest, and khakis, to her moving portrayal of Kay Adams, the woman who becomes part of the Corleone family in The Godfather.
Her breakthrough roles in the 1970s, many in Woody Allen films, were far from fleeting. She continued captivating audiences for decades, in part due to her enduring partnership with director Nancy Meyers.
Keaton won her first Oscar for Annie Hall and would go on to be nominated three more times, for Reds, Marvin’s Room and Something’s Gotta Give.
In her very Keaton way, upon accepting her Oscar in 1978 she laughed and said, “This is something.”
Bette Midler, who appeared with Keaton in The First Wives Club, honored her on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has passed. Words can’t express how deeply saddened I am by this news.
“She was hilarious, completely unique, and utterly genuine, lacking any of the competitiveness you’d associate with such a star presence. What you saw was who she truly was… oh, la, la!”
Octavia Spencer also paid homage, recalling Keaton as “[not] just an actress: she was a force. A woman who taught us that being true to oneself is the most powerful act one can embody.”
“From Annie Hall to Something’s Gotta Give, she made every role unforgettable. But beyond the screen, she brought joy, laughter, and style that was all her own. Thank you, Diane, for reminding us that authenticity never goes out of fashion,” Spencer’s tribute read.
Keaton was born Diane Hall in January 1946 in Los Angeles, though her family was not part of the film industry she would find herself in.
Her mother was a homemaker and photographer, and her father was in real estate and civil engineering.
Keaton made her film debut in the 1970 romantic comedy Lovers and Other Strangers, but her big breakthrough would come a few years later when she was cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, which won best picture and become one of the most beloved films of all time.
And yet even she hesitated to return for the sequel, though after reading the script she decided otherwise.
The 1970s were an incredibly fruitful time for Keaton thanks in part to her ongoing collaboration with Allen in both comedic and dramatic roles.
She appeared in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery and the film version of Play it Again, Sam.
Allen and the late Marshall Brickman gave Keaton one of her most iconic roles in Annie Hall, the infectious woman from Chippewa Falls whom Allen’s Alvy Singer cannot get over.
The film is considered one of the great romantic comedies of all time, with Keaton’s eccentric, self-deprecating Annie at its heart.
– Reported with Associated Press
