Diane Keaton Dies: Oscar-Winning Star of ‘Annie Hall,’ ‘The Godfather’ Was 79

Diane Keaton has died at the age of 79.

The Oscar-winning actor died in California, People reports. No details about Keaton’s cause of death were shared. Her family has asked for privacy at this time, according to a spokesperson.

Keaton is known for her Oscar-winning role in Annie Hall, as well as roles in The Godfather, First Wives Club, the 1990s Father of the Bride films, Something’s Gotta Give, Because I Said So, and more. She also starred in the Book Club franchise, created by Nancy Meyers, her frequent collaborator (Father of the Bride and its sequel, Something’s Gotta Give, and Baby Boom are all Meyers titles). Her final film was 2024’s Summer Camp. According to IMDb, she had three projects in pre-production at the time of her death.

Keaton was born Diane Hall in 1946 in Los Angeles. Her father was a civil engineer, her mother was a stay-at-home mom, and she was the eldest of four siblings.

Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Bette Midler in The First Wives Club (Everett Collection)

Keaton’s career began on stage. She was in the original Broadway cast of Hair in 1968, and she costarred with Woody Allen in his 1969 comedic film Play It Again, Sam, in which she reprised her role from the stage production. Keaton’s breakout film role as Kay Adams in The Godfather (1972). Kay was Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) tormented girlfriend and eventual wife. She reprised the role in The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990).

Related

Robert Redford Dies at 89: Hollywood Pays Tribute

Keaton starred alongside Allen again in 1977’s Annie Hall, which led to her Oscar win for Best Actress in 1978. She appeared in several Allen films in her career. Keaton would go on to be nominated for three more Oscars. She was nominated for Best Actress in 1982 for Reds, 1997 for Marvin’s Room, and 2004 for Something’s Gotta Give.

Keaton never married. She adopted two children, Dexter and Duke, in her 50s and raised them on her own. Dexter was adopted in 1996 when Keaton was 50, and Duke was adopted in 2001 when she was 55. In 2021, Keaton told Today that she never married because she “didn’t want to give up [her] independence” after seeing how much her mother “gave up” for marriage.

Keaton dated Allen for a couple of years in the 1970s. She struck up a romantic relationship with Pacino during the production of The Godfather Part II. Keaton also dated her Reds costar, Warren Beatty, when they worked together on the film. Keaton and her Something’s Gotta Give love interest, Keanu Reeves, were rumored to have dated after working on the film, but that was never confirmed by either actor.