Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of "Annie Hall," "Father of The Bride," "Somethings' Gotta Give," and many other films, died October 11, 2025, in California at the age of 79.

Keaton was a singular star, with a self-deprecating streak that utterly charmed her admirers. Though she became a staple of Woody Allen's films, there was much more to her career than the eight of his movies in which she appeared. Her range allowed her to turn in strong dramatic performances and just as easily anchor frothy comedies.

Among the many notables who paid tribute to Keaton upon her death was her longtime friend Carly Simon, who said, "Diane had a warmth and wit that drew you in, and a courage in her work that left you in awe. I’ve always believed she was one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen." "First Wives Club" co-star Bette Midler noted, "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."

Born Diane Hall on January 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, Keaton long dreamed of being an actress. She starred in a Santa Ana High School production of "A Streetcar Named Desire," and she briefly studied acting in college before dropping out to pursue her craft in New York City. As she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse and sought early roles, Keaton also sang at nightclubs. She was able to use her musical talent later in movies, singing in "Annie Hall" and "Radio Days," among others.

By 1968, Keaton had landed on Broadway, first as an ensemble member of the "Hair" cast and then as its female lead, Sheila. She began her long-term association with Allen in his Broadway show, "Play it Again, Sam," starring opposite the playwright in a Tony Award-nominated performance. Despite her early success onstage, though, it was the silver screen where Keaton would truly shine, for decades.

After her 1970 film debut in "Lovers and Other Strangers," Keaton quickly rose to major roles. She played Kat Adams-Corleone opposite Al Pacino in "The Godfather;" the same year she reprised her Broadway role in the film adaptation of "Play it Again, Sam." She worked with Allen again in "Sleeper" and "Love and Death" before taking on her 1977 award-winning signature role.

Allen wrote "Annie Hall" explicitly for Keaton, loosely basing the character on the actress herself. Annie was quirky and self-deprecating like Keaton, and the artfully disarrayed vintage menswear she preferred was designed by Keaton herself. Encouraged by Allen to "wear what you want to wear" in the film, Keaton put together a street-chic style that she adopted in her personal life as well. Even as "Annie Hall" made Keaton a major star and an Oscar winner, it also turned her into a fashion icon, inspiring generations of imitators with her layered look featuring neckties, vests, blazers, and bowler hats.

Even as "Annie Hall" charmed moviegoers and the voters of the Academy (and those of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the British Academy, who honored her performance with a Golden Globe and a BAFTA), Keaton was displaying her range as, in the same year, she starred in the much heavier "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." Two more Allen films followed – "Interiors" and "Manhattan" – before Keaton nabbed her second Oscar nomination, for portraying early feminist activist Louise Bryant in "Reds." She earned two more nominations, for the 1996 drama "Marvin's Room" and the 2003 romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give."

Keaton's nominated performances anchored dozens of other memorable movies. She became especially associated with female-focused comedies, from "Baby Boom" to "The First Wives Club" to "Book Club" to her final film, 2024's "Summer Camp." Along the way, she starred in the 1991 remake of "Father of the Bride" and its 1995 sequel, along with "Manhattan Murder Mystery," "The Family Stone," a voice role in "Finding Dory," and many others.

Keaton also stepped behind the camera occasionally, directing the 2000 film "Hanging Up" along with episodes of "Twin Peaks" and "Pasadena" and music videos for Belinda Carlisle.

In addition to her Academy Award, Keaton was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 2017, which was presented to her by Allen. In was one of several awards to acknowledge her career-long breadth of work, including lifetime achievement awards from the Hollywood Film Awards and the Manaki Brothers Film Festival.

By Linnea Crowther

(Image: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)