Diane Keaton, the actor beloved for her roles in “The Godfather” films and “Annie Hall,” has died at the age of 79, her daughter confirmed to NBC News.
Dexter Keaton said the family is looking for privacy and had no further comment.
Diane Keaton, known for her wit, humor, and sparkling charm, was a longtime Hollywood star with a career spanning six decades.
She won the Oscar for her role in Woody Allen’s rom-com “Annie Hall” in 1977, and was nominated three other times for her roles in “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
Born in Los Angeles, she studied drama at Santa Ana College and dropped out to pursue acting in New York. She was cast in Woody Allen’s Broadway play “Play It Again, Sam” in 1968, setting her on a course for stardom, according to IMDb.
Her first major big-screen roles came in 1972 with the film “Play It Again, Sam” and as Kay Adams in the iconic film “The Godfather.”
Keaton was prolific on the big screen, cementing a name for herself by starring in some of Hollywood’s most beloved films.
She played Nina Banks, the wife of George Banks, played by Steve Martin, in the 1991 film “Father of the Bride” as well as the 1995 sequel “Father of the Bride Part II.” She appeared as Annie MacDuggan Paradis in the 1996 comedy “The First Wives Club” alongside Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler, and played Erica Barry in Nancy Meyers’ 2003 rom-com “Something’s Gotta Give” opposite Jack Nicholson.
She was also beloved for the 2018 comedy movie “Book Club” which followed the antics of four lifelong friends, played by Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.
Keaton never married, but was romantically linked to Allen, Warren Beatty, and Al Pacino.
Reflecting on her romantic life, she told People Magazine in 2019: [“I’m not sad] because I think that I needed more of a maternal aspect… “I don’t think it would have been a good idea for me to have married, and I’m really glad I didn’t, and I’m sure they’re happy about it, too.”
“I’m an odd ball,” she told the magazine. “I remember one day in high school, this guy came up to me and said, ‘One day you’re going to make a good wife.’ And I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a wife. No.’”
She is survived by her two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted when she was in her 50s, according to the magazine.
Tributes poured in for the star on Saturday.
Midler remembered her former co-star as “brilliant, beautiful and extraordinary.”
“I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. 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!” Midler wrote on Instagram.
“Father of the Bride” co-star Kimberly Williams Paisley wrote on Instagram: “Diane, working with you will always be one of the highlights of my life. You are one of a kind, and it was thrilling to be in your orbit for a time.”
“Book Club” co-star Steenburgen remembered Keaton as “magic.”
“There was no one, nor will there ever be, anyone like her. I loved her and felt blessed to be her friend. My love to her family. What a wonder she was!!!” she said in a statement.
Fellow “Book Club” co-star Fonda said in a statement: “It’s hard to believe … or accept … that Diane has passed. She was always a spark of life and light, constantly giggling at her own foibles, being limitlessly creative … in her acting, her wardrobe, her books, her friends, her homes, her library. Unique is what she was. And, though she didn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it, man she was a fine actress!”
Ben Stiller honored Keaton as “one of the greatest film actors ever.”
Kate Hudson shared a clip from “The First Wives Club” on Instagram with the caption: “We love you so much Diane.”
Actor Viola Davis wrote on Instagram: “No!! No!!! No!! God, not yet, NO!!! Man… you defined womanhood. The pathos, humor, levity, your ever-present youthfulness and vulnerability — you tattooed your SOUL into every role, making it impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting them. You were undeniably, unapologetically YOU!!! Loved you.”
