Legendary actress Diane Keaton has died at the age of 79, her family confirmed to people.com on Saturday.
A family spokesperson shared that they are asking for privacy at this time. The cause of death was not immediately available.
Keaton, a fiercely independent trailblazer in Hollywood, leaves behind her two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted as a single mother in her 50s.
Keaton was an Oscar-winner who starred in some of the most enduring film classics of the 20th century. Her breakthrough came with her role as Kay Adams-Corleone, the love interest and wife of Michael Corleone, in the legendary Godfather trilogy.
However, it was her partnership with director and co-star Woody Allen that cemented her status as a screen icon. Her performance in Annie Hall (1977) earned her wins for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, BAFTAs and Golden Globes.
Keaton, born Diane Hall, began her career on Broadway, making her debut as an understudy in Hair. Her role and subsequent Tony Award nomination for Allen’s Play It Again, Sam helped her make the jump to film.
Known for bringing a unique mix of vulnerability, charm, and authenticity to her roles, Keaton held leading roles across five decades and accumulated four Oscar nominations in total, including her win for Annie Hall.
Throughout her distinguished career, she starred opposite Hollywood heavyweights like Al Pacino, Warren Beatty, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Steve Martin. Later in her career, she starred in the female ensemble hits The First Wives Club in the 1990s and the 2018 film Book Club and its sequel. Her final film role was 2024’s Summer Camp.
In a 2023 interview with AARP, Keaton reflected on her success, acknowledging her “great good fortune” to have worked with some of the greatest directors and actors during her half-century in Hollywood.
Keaton’s impact extended beyond her acting talent. She was a renowned fashion icon whose androgynous, menswear-inspired style in Annie Hall—complete with vests, ties, and fedoras—went on to inspire fashion for decades.
She also cultivated a reputation as a fiercely independent woman. She never married, and famously described her journey through single motherhood as “the most fun I’ve ever had.”
The news of Keaton’s passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from her co-stars and friends across Hollywood.
Bette Midler, who starred with Keaton in The First Wives Club, wrote on Instagram, “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile… What you saw was who she was.”
Mary Steenburgen, Keaton’s co-star in Book Club, called her “magic” in a statement to Deadline, adding, “There was no one, nor will there ever be, anyone like her. I loved her and felt blessed to be her friend.”
Actor and director Ben Stiller praised her on X, writing, “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.” Director Paul Feig also shared a tribute: “I was so honored to call Diane Keaton a friend. She was an amazingly kind and creative person who also just happened to be a Hollywood legend.”
Details about Keaton’s cause of death, public memorials, and further tributes are expected to be announced in the coming days as the entertainment world remembers one of its most significant contributors to film and culture.
•Featured image: Diane Keaton/Anthony Behar/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
