Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton will be the guest of honor at a gala Hollywood event Thursday evening as she is presented with the American Film Institute’s 45th AFI Life Achievement Award.
“Diane Keaton is one of the most beloved leading ladies of American film,” said Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees.
“Peerless in her mastery of both comedy and drama, she has won the world’s heart time and again by creating characters of both great strength and vulnerability,” he said. “Her career as a director and producer is even further evidence of her passion for the art form and her seemingly boundless talents.”
The award will be presented to Keaton at the Dolby Theatre. The event will be made into a television special airing June 15 on TNT and July 31 on sister network Turner Classic Movies.
Keaton, 71, has amassed more than 60 film credits across five decades. Her iconic roles include long-suffering mob wife Kay Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” trilogy and the heroine of Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall,” which earned her an Academy Award and turned her into a national fashion icon.
Her long comedic collaboration with Allen also includes “Play It Again, Sam,” “Sleeper,” “Love and Death,” “Manhattan” and “Manhattan Murder Mystery.”
Additional acting credits include “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” “Reds,” “The Little Drummer Girl,” “Marvin’s Room,” “Baby Boom,” “Father of the Bride,” “The First Wives Club” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
During the 1980s, Keaton branched into directing — from feature narratives and documentaries to music videos and television.
—City News Service