Diane Keaton, the iconic actor whose five-decade film career included unforgettable roles in Annie Hall, The Godfather, and The First Wives Club, has died at the age of 79 in California. The news was confirmed by People magazine on Saturday, October 11, 2025. Her family has requested privacy, and no further details have been made public at this time.
Keaton rose to prominence with her role as Kay Adams in The Godfather (1972), later reprising the character in both sequels. Her portrayal of the quirky, deeply relatable title character in Annie Hall (1977) earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress and cemented her status as a singular presence in American cinema.
Throughout her career, Keaton was known for her wit, intelligence, and unconventional style — famously favoring hats, turtlenecks, and wide-legged trousers. She collaborated with director Woody Allen on eight films, including Sleeper(1973), Love and Death (1975), and Manhattan (1979), beginning with their stage work together on Play It Again, Sam in 1971.
In addition to Annie Hall, Keaton received Academy Award nominations for her performances in Reds (1981), Marvin’s Room (1996), and Something’s Gotta Give (2003). She also took on emotionally complex roles in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Shoot the Moon, and The Good Mother, earning critical acclaim for her willingness to portray flawed and difficult characters.
Among her more mainstream and popular work, Keaton starred in comedies such as Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, The First Wives Club, and Book Club. The sequel, Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023), was among her final film appearances.
Keaton remained prolific into her later years, telling The Guardian in a 2023 interview that continuing to work allowed her to connect with new people and experiences: “It gives me an opportunity to get to know more people in a different realm. I love it. It’s all interesting. It’s never dull, ever, life.”
Off-screen, Keaton was passionate about photography, particularly of abandoned buildings and storefronts, which she described as “poignant” and “haunting.” She also became known for her work in home design, flipping properties and launching lines of homeware, glasses, wine, and apparel.
In 1996, Keaton adopted a daughter, Dexter, followed by a son, Duke, in 2001. Though she had high-profile relationships with co-stars such as Al Pacino and Warren Beatty, she never married. “Motherhood has completely changed me,” she once said. “It’s just about like the most completely humbling experience that I’ve ever had.”
Keaton also spent much of her later life caring for family members, including her mother, who had Alzheimer’s, and her brother Randy, who struggled with mental health challenges and died in 2021. Her mother’s influence loomed large in her life, both personally and creatively. “She was my example for what you can do with life. She was the heart of everything that was best,” Keaton said.
In 2017, Keaton received a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute. In her acceptance speech, she paid tribute to her collaborators and closed the evening with a performance of “Seems Like Old Times,” a song from Annie Hall — the role that defined her and that she made unforgettable.
American Cinematheque, the film organization that runs the Egyptian and Aero Theaters locally have been running retrospectives on many actors who recently died. Expect them to run a retrospective on Ms. Keaton as well as she made many movies over a span of 40 years. May Diane Keaton RIP.