Diane Keaton, the actress beloved for her roles in the “Godfather” and “Annie Hall” films, has died at the age of 79, her daughter confirmed to NBC News.
Dexter Keaton said the family is seeking privacy and had no further comment.
Diane Keaton, known for her wit, humor and sparkling charm, was a Hollywood star with a career spanning six decades.
She won the Oscar for her role in Woody Allen’s romantic comedy “Annie Hall” in 1977 and was nominated three other times for her roles in “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
Born in Los Angeles, she studied theater at Santa Ana College and abandoned her studies to pursue acting in New York. She was cast in Woody Allen’s Broadway play “Play It Again, Sam” in 1968, setting her on the path to stardom, according to IMDb.
Her first major big screen roles came in 1972 with the film “Play It Again, Sam” and as Kay Adams in the iconic film “The Godfather.”
Keaton was prolific on the big screen, making a name for herself by starring in some of Hollywood’s most beloved films.
She played Nina Banks, the wife of George Banks, played by Steve Martin, in the 1991 film “Father of the Bride,” as well as the 1995 sequel “Father of the Bride Part II.” She appeared as Annie MacDuggan Paradis in the 1996 comedy “The First Wives Club” opposite Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler, and played Erica Barry in Nancy Meyers’ 2003 romantic comedy “Something’s Gotta Give” opposite Jack Nicholson.
She was also beloved for the 2018 comedy film “Book Club,” which followed the antics of four lifelong friends, played by Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.
Keaton never married, but was romantically linked to Allen, Warren Beatty and Al Pacino.
Reflecting on her romantic life, she told People magazine in 2019: [“I’m not sad] because I think I needed more of a motherly aspect. … “I don’t think it would have been a good idea for me to get married, and I’m very happy I didn’t, and I’m sure they’re happy about that too.”
“I’m a weird ball,” he told the magazine. “I remember one day in high school, a guy came up to me and said, ‘Someday you’re going to be a good wife.’ And I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a wife.’ No.”
She is survived by her two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted when she was 50, according to the magazine.
Tributes to the star arrived on Saturday.
Midler remembered her former co-star as “brilliant, beautiful and extraordinary.”
“I can’t express how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, completely original and without any cleverness or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from a star like that. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!” Midler wrote on Instagram.
“Father of the Bride” co-star Kimberly Williams Paisley wrote on Instagram: “Diane, working with you will always be one of the best moments of my life. You are one of a kind and it was exciting to be in your orbit for a while.”
“Book Club” co-star Steenburgen remembered Keaton as “magical.”
“There was and will be no one like her. I loved her and felt blessed to be her friend. My love to her family. How wonderful she was!!!” he said in a statement.
Her fellow “Book Club” co-star, Fonda, said in a statement: “It’s hard to believe… or accept… that Diane has passed away. She was always a spark of life and light, constantly laughing at her own weaknesses, being limitlessly creative… in her acting, her wardrobe, her books, her friends, her homes, her library. Unique is who she was. And, although she didn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it, she was a “excellent actress!”
Ben Stiller honored Keaton as “one of the greatest movie actors of all time.”
Kate Hudson shared a clip from “The First Wives Club” on Instagram with the caption, “We love you so much, Diane.”
Actress Viola Davis wrote on Instagram: “No!! No!!! No!! God, not yet, NO!!! Man… you defined femininity. The pathos, the humor, the lightness, your ever-present youth and vulnerability – you tattooed your SOUL onto every role, making it impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting them. You were undeniably and unapologetically YOU! I loved you.”
