Tributes have been paid to the “brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary” Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton. Ian Woods reports on the death of a Hollywood legend
Hollywood stars have paid tribute to “brilliant, beautiful” Diane Keaton, best known for roles in Annie Hall and The Godfather, who has died at the age of 79.
The actress shot to fame in the 1970s with her role as Kay Adams in The Godfather trilogy, as well as her collaborations with Woody Allen.
She won an Oscar for Allen’s influential film Annie Hall and became associated with the title character’s menswear-centric wardrobe.
Her many beloved films included The First Wives Club, Father Of The Bride, The Family Stone and the Book Club movies.
She was nominated for Oscars for her roles in Something’s Gotta Give, Marvin’s Room and Reds.
Her First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.
“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”
Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”
Her film debut was in 1970s Lovers and Other Strangers, but her big break came in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, as the girlfriend of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, in 1972.
She reprised her role in 1974’s The Godfather Part II and also in 1990’s The Godfather Part III.
Much of her career was defined by her many collaborations with Allen, her one-time boyfriend, and Annie Hall was the signature character of her career to many of her fans.
People speculated that the movie was based on Keaton and Allen’s relationship and Keaton told told The New York Times in 1977: “It’s not true, but there are elements of truth in it.”
Other collaborations with Allen included Manhattan, Sleeper, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and Play It Again, Sam.
She remained a supporter of Allen after the accusation by Mia Farrow that he had abused their adopted daughter, Dylan.
In 1996 she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.
More recently, she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.
Keaton never married. She adopted a daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.
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