Hollywood icon Diane Keaton, star of The Godfather and Annie Hall, dies at 79

Hollywood star Diane Keaton has died at 79. According to People, Keaton, renowned for her Academy Award-winning performance in Annie Hall, passed away in California.

According to a spokesperson for the late actress’s family, no further details on her passing are being released, and they have asked for privacy as they mourn the veteran actress.  

Keaton wore so many hats during her long and eventful career in Hollywood. She was an actress, producer and director. Her directorial credits include episodes on China Beach and Twin Peaks.
 

She produced the Fox series Pasadena and the 2003 movie Elephant. She was a successful author and had a couple of bestselling memoirs under her belt.

She worked as a photographer from the ‘70s and had her work collected in “Reservations.” She edited many photo collections as well. 

More details on Diane Keaton

Keaton was born in Los Angeles and took a liking to the arts, performing in plays in High School. She went on to study drama in college but dropped out and relocated to New York to pursue a career in the theatre.

She adopted her mother's maiden name, Keaton, as her professional name as one Diane Hall already existed in the Actors’ Equity.

After earning multiple roles in Broadway, she made her film debut in 1970 in Lovers and Strangers before her big break came in the role of Kay Adams in The Godfather.
 

In 2022, she spoke to PEOPLE about the pivotal moment in her career:
 

"I think the kindest thing that someone's ever done for me ... is that I got cast to be in The Godfather and I didn't even read it. I didn't know a single thing," she told PEOPLE in 2022. "I just was going around auditioning. I think that was amazing for me. And then I had to kind of read the book."

She has an impressive resume of critically/acclaimed movies, including Annie Hall, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and Something’s Gotta Give.

Keaton is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke.