Diane Keaton, Oscar-Winning Star of “Annie Hall” and “The Godfather,” Dies at 79

Diane Keaton, the Academy Award-winning actress known for her roles in Annie Hall, The Godfather, Father of the Bride, and The First Wives Club, has died at the age of 79.Her family confirmed that the actress passed away in California and asked for privacy as they mourn.

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946, Keaton became one of the defining performers of American cinema in the 1970s and 1980s.

She won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in Annie Hall (1977) and became a style icon whose menswear-inspired wardrobe shaped an era.

Keaton was the eldest of four children.

Her father worked as a civil engineer, and her mother, Dorothy, was a homemaker whom Diane later described as “beautiful, talented, and my biggest advocate.”

“In her heart of hearts, she probably wanted to be an entertainer,” Keaton told PEOPLE in 2004.

She began performing in high school plays and briefly studied drama in college before moving to New York to pursue acting.

Taking her mother’s maiden name for professional use, she joined the Broadway production of Hair in 1968 and later earned a Tony nomination for Woody Allen’s Play It Again, Sam.

Her screen debut came in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), but her breakthrough arrived when Francis Ford Coppola cast her as Kay Adams, the wife of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), in The Godfather (1972).

The film and its sequels brought Keaton international fame. “The kindest thing anyone ever did for me was to cast me in The Godfather,” she told PEOPLE in 2022.

Keaton continued her collaboration with Woody Allen throughout the 1970s, appearing in Sleeper, Love and Death, and Annie Hall. Her performance as Annie earned her the Oscar and solidified her as both a major star and a fashion icon. She later appeared in Interiors, Manhattan, and Manhattan Murder Mystery, and remained loyal to Allen even amid controversy, telling The Guardian in 2014, “I love him.”

Beyond her work with Allen, Keaton starred in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Reds (1981), Baby Boom (1987), The First Wives Club (1996), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), and the Book Club films.

She also worked frequently with director Nancy Meyers on comedies that showcased her warmth and impeccable timing.

In addition to acting, Keaton directed the documentary Heaven (1987), the feature film Hanging Up (2000), and an episode of Twin Peaks. She was also an avid photographer and author, publishing several books about design and architecture.

Keaton was open about her struggles with bulimia early in her career. “It had to do with an overabundant need for more — too much. It was a mental illness,” she told PEOPLE in 2017, adding that therapy helped her recover.

She never married, a fact she often discussed with characteristic candor.

“I’m the only one in my generation of actresses who has been single all her life,” she told PEOPLE in 2019.

“I’m really glad I didn’t get married. I’m an oddball — and I like it that way.”

Throughout her life, Keaton was romantically linked to Allen, Al Pacino, and Warren Beatty, though she always prioritized her independence. In 1996, she adopted her daughter Dexter, followed by her son Duke in 2001.

“Motherhood wasn’t an irresistible urge — it was a thought I’d had for a long time. So I plunged in,” she said in a 2008 interview.

In later years, Keaton appeared in The Young Pope on HBO and even starred in Justin Bieber’s 2021 music video Ghost.

She remained active on social media, sharing reflections on her career and affection for her friends and collaborators.

Looking back, she once told PEOPLE, “Getting older hasn’t made me wiser. Without acting, I would have been a misfit.”

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