Diane Keaton, an actress celebrated for her vibrant, often unconventional, yet always charmingly self-deprecating presence, has passed away at the age of 79. Best known for her Oscar-winning role in Woody Allen’s iconic comedy ‘Annie Hall,’ Keaton graced the screen in approximately 100 film and television productions, effortlessly balancing her talent between lighthearted comedies like ‘Sleeper’ and ‘The First Wives Club,’ and intense dramas such as ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Marvin’s Room.’
Dori Rath, a producer on several of Ms. Keaton’s recent projects, confirmed her passing. Details regarding the location, time, or cause of death were not immediately disclosed.
At 31, and with eight films (predominantly comedies) already under her belt, Ms. Keaton took on the titular role in the groundbreaking 1977 film ‘Annie Hall.’ Her portrayal of a single New Yorker navigating life with a mix of ambition, insecurity, and unmistakable style became legendary. Annie Hall was characterized by her candid therapeutic insights, a distinctive menswear-inspired fashion sense, notoriously bad driving, and a charmingly wholesome Midwestern innocence.
She accepted her Oscar wearing a linen jacket, two full linen skirts, a scarf over a white shirt and black string tie, and high heels with socks. In her 2014 memoir, “Then Again,” she looked back on the moment, with some regret, as “my ‘la-de-da’ layered get-up.”
“Annie Hall,” which won three other Oscars including best picture, brought Ms. Keaton a shower of additional honors, including acting awards from the National Board of Review, National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle and the British Academy of Film and Television Artists.
Indeed, The Hollywood Reporter lauded Ms. Keaton as “the consummate actress of our generation” in its review of “Annie Hall,” praising her for injecting the film with the “charm, warmth, and spontaneity” that made its narrative so believable.
Ms. Keaton earned three more Academy Award nominations throughout her career. One was for the sweeping 1981 drama “Reds,” where she portrayed Louise Bryant, a compelling 1910s writer immersed in the world of Greenwich Village socialists and Bolshevik revolutionaries, alongside activist journalist Jack Reed (played by Warren Beatty, who also directed).
Her second nomination came for “Marvin’s Room” (1996), a poignant film where she played a devoted daughter caring for her ailing father and eccentric aunt. Her character faces a leukemia diagnosis, necessitating a bone-marrow transplant. This acclaimed drama featured a stellar cast including Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Hume Cronyn.
The third nomination was for the 2003 hit comedy “Something’s Gotta Give.” In it, she portrayed a successful playwright who transforms a heartbreaking breakup into a triumphant new stage production. Her character finds herself courted by a charming, much younger doctor (Keanu Reeves) and ultimately inspires a previously chauvinistic man in his sixties (Jack Nicholson) to fall for a woman his contemporary.
Beyond her acting prowess, Ms. Keaton also ventured into directing. Her debut was the 1987 documentary “Heaven,” exploring diverse perspectives on the afterlife. Her final directorial effort was the 2000 comic drama “Hanging Up,” where she directed herself alongside Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow, adapting a novel by Delia Ephron.
Her initial foray into fictional filmmaking came with “Unstrung Heroes” (1995), starring Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, and Michael Richards. This captivating tale about a teenage boy’s eccentric uncles garnered significant acclaim, earning a selection for Un Certain Regard at the esteemed Cannes Film Festival. Rolling Stone praised it as a film that “works like a charm,” while The Washington Post lauded it as “sweet madness” and a “sensitive coming-of-age story.”
A career in film was always Ms. Keaton’s primary ambition. During a 2010 appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning,” she humorously articulated her lifelong aversion to theater: “Night after night? Doing a play?” she quipped, gesturing with an imaginary gun to her head. “That’s my idea of hell.”
Born Diane Hall on January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, she was the eldest of four children. Her father, John Newton Ignatius Hall (affectionately known as Jack), was a civil engineer, while her mother, Dorothy Deanne (Keaton) Hall, was an avid amateur photographer who once held the title of Mrs. Los Angeles in a homemaker beauty pageant.
In her memoir, Ms. Keaton recalled that her father frequently called her “Perkins” and often addressed her as “Di-annie.”
Raised in Santa Ana, California, Ms. Keaton briefly attended community colleges in Santa Ana and Orange Coast before, at 19, deciding to pursue her passion for acting. She subsequently moved to New York to study at the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse.
Her Broadway journey began with the acclaimed musical “Hair,” where she initially joined the ensemble before stepping into the lead female role of Sheila. Notably, she declined a $50 bonus offered to actors willing to appear nude in a particular scene.
Her theatrical career flourished, and it was on Broadway that her enduring collaboration with Woody Allen began. In “Play It Again, Sam” (1969), she played a captivating married woman opposite Allen’s portrayal of a somewhat awkward, divorced friend. This performance earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Her cinematic debut followed in 1970, with a role as a discontented young wife at a suburban wedding in “Lovers and Other Strangers.” After several television appearances, she took on the pivotal role of Kay Adams—the distinctly non-Sicilian girlfriend who evolves into the trusting wife of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino)—in Francis Ford Coppola’s monumental “The Godfather” (1972). She and Mr. Pacino would later begin a romantic relationship in 1974, the same year “The Godfather, Part II” premiered.
Despite the widespread acclaim for “The Godfather,” Ms. Keaton, known for her modesty, remained reserved about her own performance. Following the film’s release, she confessed to The Times: “Right from the beginning I thought I wasn’t right for the part. I haven’t seen the film. I just decided I would save myself the pain. I had to see a few scenes because I had to loop — dub in some dialogue — and I couldn’t stand looking at myself. I thought I looked so terrible, just like a stick in those ’40s clothes!”
Just three years later, in the same year “Annie Hall” hit theaters, Keaton delivered a harrowing performance in the drama “Looking for Mr. Goodbar.” She portrayed a young teacher who frequented singles bars by night. Molly Haskell, reviewing for New York magazine, hailed it as “the performance of a lifetime,” describing the film as “harrowing, powerful, appalling.” It was widely believed that while she won the Oscar for “Annie Hall,” many voters were swayed by her brilliant, yet difficult to watch, work in “Mr. Goodbar.”
Ms. Keaton became a frequent collaborator in Woody Allen’s filmography, starting with the movie adaptation of “Play It Again, Sam” (1972). Their work together included “Sleeper” (1973), a comedic romp in a dystopian future, and “Love and Death” (1975), set in imperial Russia. She also showcased her range in Allen’s more dramatic contemporary films, “Interiors” (1978) and the critically acclaimed “Manhattan” (1979).
Though she often downplayed her youthful singing aspirations, Ms. Keaton beautifully performed two songs in “Annie Hall” and made a memorable cameo as a 1940s nightclub singer in Allen’s “Radio Days” (1987). Their final collaboration on screen was “Manhattan Murder Mystery” (1993).
Beyond “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room,” and the sequels to “The Godfather” (1974 and 1990), Keaton’s dramatic repertoire included several other acclaimed films, often infused with satirical nuances. These encompassed “Shoot the Moon” (1982), a co-starring role with Albert Finney depicting a Californian couple’s tumultuous divorce; Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart” (1986), where she played the spinster sister to Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek in a Southern Gothic setting; and the mini-series “The Young Pope” (2016), in which she was a nun serving as personal secretary and confidante to Jude Law’s pontiff.
However, her flair for sophisticated farce was never neglected. Prior to “Something’s Gotta Give,” she graced other comedies penned or directed by Nancy Meyers, including “Baby Boom” (1987), where she starred opposite Sam Shepard as a high-powered executive who unexpectedly inherits a baby and relocates to Vermont. She also delighted audiences in “Father of the Bride” (1991) and its 1995 sequel, both opposite Steve Martin.
At a 2004 comedy festival in Aspen, Colorado, Nancy Meyers drew parallels between Ms. Keaton’s comedic genius and that of past legends like Katharine Hepburn and Jean Arthur. Woody Allen, her frequent collaborator, went further, telling The Times, “My opinion is that with the exception of Judy Holliday, she’s the finest screen comedienne we’ve ever seen.”
Her extensive comedic filmography also boasted titles such as the 1890s-set “Harry and Walter Go to New York” (1975), co-starring James Caan and Elliott Gould; the ensemble hit “The Family Stone” (2005), featuring Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Craig T. Nelson; “5 Flights Up” (2014), opposite Morgan Freeman; and “Poms” (2019), a heartwarming comedy about a group of retirement-age cheerleaders.
One of her most significant box-office successes was “The First Wives Club” (1996), a hilarious and empowering film starring alongside Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler. This comedy, often viewed as a tale of revenge or perhaps justice, saw Ms. Keaton’s character discover that her trusted therapist was having an affair with her estranged husband.
Her last big-screen appearance was in “Summer Camp” (2024), a comedy revolving around an eventful reunion of three lifelong friends.
Ms. Keaton’s personal life, particularly her romantic relationships with figures like Warren Beatty, Woody Allen, and Al Pacino, frequently captured the attention of gossip columns. She chose never to marry and adopted two children, a son named Duke Keaton and a daughter named Dexter Keaton. Full details regarding her survivors were not immediately released.
With her characteristic self-deprecating humor, Ms. Keaton once cheerfully told People magazine in 2019, “Getting older hasn’t made me wiser. I don’t know anything, and I haven’t learned.”
Despite her modest assessment, over the years Ms. Keaton authored approximately a dozen books, spanning topics from fashion, art, and architecture to insightful memoirs. In a 2014 review for The New York Times Book Review, Sheila Weller praised Keaton’s memoir “Then Again” as “provocatively honest,” noting her “bitingly wry, ironic and tough about herself” approach.
“Then Again” also provided Ms. Keaton a platform for profound reflections, such as her observation: “I learned I couldn’t shed light on love other than to feel its comings and goings and be grateful.”
She even took the opportunity to playfully challenge common adages, musing, “If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, does that mean mirrors are a waste of time?”