The film world was mourning Diane Keaton Sunday, one day after the beloved star of 1977’s “Annie Hall” and dozens of other movies died in Brentwood at the age of 79.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Keaton’s home at 8:08 a.m. Saturday and transported Keaton to a hospital, where she died.
No cause of death has been released, but the Los Angeles native had experienced a sudden decline in health in recent months, according to People, which was the first media outlet to report her death.
In 2015, Keaton described her family history with skin cancer to the Los Angeles Times, saying she was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma at age 21.
“I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose. My father had basal skin cancer and my brother had it,” she told The Times. “It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on.”
No public memorials have been announced yet for Keaton, but reaction to her death was widespread on social media this weekend.
Bette Midler, who starred with Keaton and Goldie Hawn in 1996’s “The First Wives Club,” was one of the first stars to post about the death. “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me,” Midler wrote on Instagram. “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!”
Hawn followed with her own lengthy tribute.
“Diane, we aren’t ready to lose you. You’ve left us with a trail of fairy dust, filled with particles of light and memories beyond imagination. How do we say goodbye? What words can come to mind when your heart is broken? You never liked praise, so humble, but now you can’t tell me to `shut up’ honey. There was, and will be, no one like you.
“You stole the hearts of the world and shared your genius with millions, making films that made us laugh and cry in ways only you could. I was blessed to make First Wives Club with you, our days starting with coffee in the makeup trailer, laughing and joking, right through to the very last day of filming. It was a roller coaster of love.
“We agreed to grow old together, and one day, maybe live together with all our girlfriends. Well, we never got to live together, but we did grow older together. Who knows? maybe in the next life. Shine your fairy dust up there, girlfriend. I’m going to miss the hell out of you.
“My heart goes out to your beautiful children, Dex and Duke.
“I love you.”
Steve Martin, who started with Keaton in “Father of the Bride” (1991) and “Father of the Bride Part II,” posted a photo of a young Keaton with the words “Loved! `La dee da, la dee da,”’ the latter part a reference to a line her character spoke in “Annie Hall.”
Actress Cynthia Nixon posted a lengthy tribute, writing: “When I was a kid, Diane Keaton was my absolute idol. I loved her acting. I loved her vibe. I loved her everything. Starting with when I was 12, I tried to dress like her. I wore my hair long. I sported men’s hats and vests and (even though my eyes were fine). I wore bookish glasses because I thought they made me look more like her. A little more than a decade ago I got to be in a movie called `Five Flights Up’ with her and it was like a dream come true. I was very shy around her, but I think she liked me and that meant everything to me.
“If you wanna know more about Diane Keaton, watch “Annie Hall,” watch “Reds,” watch “Shoot the Moon.” She is extraordinary in them,” Nixon continued. “But also read `Then Again,’ her stunningly honest autobiography which not only tells her own story but contrasts it fascinatingly with her mother’s life. She was one of a kind. I’m so sad she is gone.”
Mandy Moore, who played Keaton’s daughter in the 2007 comedy “Because I Said So,” wrote: “They say, `Don’t meet your heroes,’ but I got to work with one of mine and even call her `mom’ for a few months. An honor of a lifetime. What an incandescent human Di is and was. I am so sad she’s gone for all the reasons but also because it felt like she’d be here forever, dazzling us with her talent and charm (and her style, c’mon)!!! One of the very best to ever do it.”
Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who played Keaton’s daughter in the “Father of the Bride” films, wrote “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. Thank you for your kindness, your generosity, your talent and above all, your laughter.”
Singer Carly Simon said Keaton “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. Losing her feels deeply personal. I’ll miss her light, her laughter, and the connection we shared.”
The 89-year-old Allen, who is not active on social media, had not released a public statement as of Sunday morning, but People reported that he was “surprised and upset” and “extremely distraught by her death.
Allen’s ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow, who had a famous falling out with Allen over his relationship with her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, posted her own tribute to Keaton, despite Keaton’s public support of Allen in the wake of unproven sexual abuse allegations against the legendary filmmaker involving another of Farrow’s adopted daughters.
“She was an absolutely wonderful actress — and a rare and fascinating person,” the 80-year-old Farrow wrote. “Thoughts with her children and sisters. Rest in peace Diane.”
Keaton was part of the original Broadway cast of “Hair” in 1968, and also earned a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Allen’s comedy “Play It Again, Sam.”
She first gained the attention of moviegoers with her portrayal of Kay Adams, the wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in 1972’s epic “The Godfather,” a role she reprised in 1974’s sequel, “The Godfather Part II” and 1990’s “The Godfather Part III.”
The early 1970s also saw her launch a fruitful collaboration with Woody Allen, starring alongside the writer/director in a string of classic comedies beginning with the film adaptation of “Play It Again, Sam” in 1972, and continuing with 1973’s “Sleeper,” 1975’s “Love and Death,” “Annie Hall” and 1979’s “Manhattan.”
Her iconic turn as the title character in “Annie Hall” is perhaps her most indelible screen creation. She played a single WASP woman from the Midwest whose romantic pairing with Allen’s neurotic Jewish character touched on many of the personal and social themes of the 1970s. The distinctive, somewhat androgynous clothing she wore in the film also made her a major fashion trend setter.
Showing her versatility after the light comedies with Allen, Keaton stretched her dramatic chops in a big way in the late ’70s and 1980s, first in 1977’s “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” in which she played a sexually active single teacher who falls victim to a predator. Other major roles included 1981’s “Reds,” in which she plays real-life revolutionary Louise Bryant opposite Warren Beatty’s John Reed, and the 1984 dramas “Mrs. Soffel” and “The Little Drummer Girl.”
She made a triumphant return to comedy with 1987’s “Baby Boom,” in which she played a single, working woman who inherits a baby, and in the “Father of the Bride” films.
Her co-starring role alongside Hawn and Midler in “The First Wives Club” signaled a new phase of playing older women, which included 2000’s “Hanging Up” with Lisa Kudrow and Meg Ryan — which Keaton also directed — 2003’s well-received romantic comedy “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholson, and 2014’s “And So it Goes” with Michael Douglas.
Her more recent films include 2019’s “Poms” and “Book Club” (2018) and “Book Club: The Next Chapter” (2023).
She dated her three most high-profile co-stars, seeing Allen, Pacino and Beatty at various times, but remained single for her entire life.
“I’m really glad I didn’t get married,” she told People in 2019. “I’m an oddball. I remember 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.”
Keaton was a vegetarian beginning in 1996. Her hobbies included photography, blogging and real estate development, and she worked with the Los Angeles Conservancy to restore historic buildings in the Los Angeles area, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House in the Hollywood Hills.
Keaton worked occasionally as a director, helming the 1987 music video for Go-Go’s lead singer Belinda Carlisle’s song “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” the 1995 feature film “Unstrung Heroes,” the 1987 documentary “Heaven” and episodes for the television series “China Beach” and “Twin Peaks.”
Her credits as a producer included director Gus Van Sant’s 2003 school shooting drama “Elephant.”
She wrote three nonfiction books, “Then Again” (2011), “Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty” (2014) and “Brother & Sister” (2020).
In 2017, she received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute at a ceremony in Los Angeles.