Actress Diane Keaton, best known for her roles in "The Godfather" and "Annie Hall," has died. She was 79 years old.
RIP Diane Keaton, 79.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 11, 2025
Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall, brilliant in the Godfather and Father of the Bride movies. One of Hollywood’s greatest actresses, and a delightful lady. Sad news. pic.twitter.com/rwxUWCaLHp
Diane Keaton was born Diane Hall in Los Angeles, California, in 1946. Her parents were Dorothy and Jack. She had three siblings: Randy, Robin, and Dorrie.
She went to Santa Ana High School, where she was involved with singing and drama, even playing the role of Blanche DuBois in a production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." After graduating in 1963, Keaton went to Santa Ana College and later Orange Coast College. She dropped out of the latter after a year to move to New York City and pursue acting.
In New York, Keaton studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She changed her name to Diane Keaton (her mother's maiden name) when she joined the Actors' Equity Association because another actress was already registered under the name Diane Hall.
Keaton worked as a nightclub singer and was cast in as the understudy of Sheila in the original Broadway production of "Hair." She auditioned for a part in Woody Allen's production of "Play It Again, Sam" and almost lost the part because she was two inches taller than Allen. She would later be nominated for a Tony Award for that role.
Her breakout came in 1972 when she was cast as Kay Adams, the wife of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone, in "The Godfather." She would reprise that role in "The Godfather Part II" and "The Godfather Part III."
Throughout the 1970s, Keaton collaborated with Woody Allen on many films including "Love and Death," "Sleepers," and “Interiors.” In 1977, Keaton was cast as the titular character in Allen’s “Annie Hall” and she would win the Academy Award for her role.
Diane Keaton in Baby Boom
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) October 11, 2025
Daughter & I loved it altho not sure why-maybe her accidental entrepreneurship or the love story with Sam Sheppard or how she realized you can't have it all but you could come close.
I know she did 100 other better movies but that one was ours.
Godspeed pic.twitter.com/45lcD12diF
Keaton’s career continued steadily throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She starred opposite Steve Martin in a remake of “The Father of the Bride” and again in “The Father of the Bride Part Two.” She made her directorial debut in 1995 with “Unstrung Heroes,” a film adapted the Franz Lidz memoir. Her big hit of the decade was in the 1996 film “The First Wives Club,” about middle-aged women coping with divorce after their husbands left them for younger women.
G’night, Annie Hall…
— James Dreyfus (@DreyfusJames) October 11, 2025
RIP Diane Keaton. 💔 pic.twitter.com/PR3iDGBLWr
Her work continued into the 2000s, including a rom-com with Jack Nicholson called “Something’s Gotta Give” and the drama “The Family Stone.”
While Keaton never married, she adopted two children, Dexter and Duke, when she was in her 50s. She said of motherhood, it “has completely changed me. It's just about like the most completely humbling experience that I've ever had.”
Diane Keaton's last Instagram post—she loved using the app—was of her beloved dog Reggie, wishing us all a happy National Pet Day.
— Anne Margaret Daniel 🦋 (@venetianblonde) October 11, 2025
May Diane's children, family, friends and Reggie know how many folks are thinking of her today with admiration, respect, and love.
❤️🐶 pic.twitter.com/TgrtWCeBZv
Keaton is survived by her children and her siblings, as well as her dog Reggie.
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