Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall, The Godfather films and Father of the Bride, whose quirky, vibrant manner and depth made her one of the most singular actors of a generation, has died. She was 79.
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People first reported Saturday (Oct. 11) that she died in California with loved ones, citing a family spokesperson. No other details were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The unexpected news was met with shock around the world. Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in that necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.
Her star-making performances in the 1970s, many of which were in Woody Allen films, were not a flash in the pan, and she would continue to charm new generations for decades thanks in part to a longstanding collaboration with filmmaker Nancy Meyers.
She played a businesswoman who unexpectedly inherits an infant in Baby Boom, the mother of the bride in the beloved remake of Father of the Bride, a newly single woman in First Wives Club, and a divorced playwright who gets involved with Jack Nicholson’s music executive in Something’s Gotta Give.
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 music, Keaton starred in Justin Bieber’s “Ghost” music video in 2021.
Beyond acting, Keaton also occasionally directed, with one-off episodes of Twin Peaks (1991) and China Beach (1990) and two music videos for Belinda Carlisle on her résumé: “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” (1987) and “I Get Weak” (1988).
“She was such a talent and a big part of my career,” Carlisle wrote on Instagram on Saturday. “She directed two videos of mine – Heaven Is A Place on Earth and the video for I Get Weak. She was kind and eccentric and I was blessed to know her. This is such a big loss… RIP Diane you will be missed.”
First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler also remembered “the brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton.”
“I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me,” Midler said on Instagram of Keaton’s death. “She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”
Mandy Moore, who portrayed Keaton’s daughter in the movie Because I Said So, shared in an Instagram post: “They say don’t meet your heroes but I got to work with one of mine and even call her ‘mom’ for a few months. An honor of a lifetime. What an incandescent human Di is and was. I am so sad she’s gone for all the reasons but also because it felt like she’d be here forever, dazzling us with her talent and charm (and her style, c’mon)!!! One of the very best to ever do it. All my love to her children and loved ones.”
Singer P!nk also remembered Keaton, whom she said was “a muse for me in every way,” by paying tribute to “her humor, wit, charm, fashion, and laugh.” “She will be so missed,” she wrote.
