A quirky actress, and an icon whose influence spanned film, fashion, design

Diane Keaton, the quirky US actress who won an Academy Award and captured hearts with her performance as Woody Allen’s eccentric, insecure girlfriend in the 1977 romantic comedy “Annie Hall,” has died at the age of 79.

Rizzoli, a publishing company that released several of Keaton’s books, confirmed her death in a statement, calling her an “icon whose influence spanned film, fashion, and design.” A representative for Keaton could not be immediately reached. Her death was first reported by People magazine.

Keaton, who appeared in more than 60 films, including “The Godfather” trilogy, “The First Wives Club” and eight films with Allen, stood out in Hollywood with a personal style that favoured androgynous looks, turtleneck sweaters and her trademark hats.


She earned Oscar nominations for best actress for her portrayal of US journalist Louise Bryant in the 1981 political drama “Reds,” as a caring aunt to Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1996 family saga “Marvin’s Room” and opposite Jack Nicholson in the 2003 romantic comedy “Something’s Gotta Give.”

But it was “Annie Hall,” which Allen loosely based on his relationship with Keaton, that established her as a consummate actress. “It was an idealised version of me, let’s put it that way,” Keaton said about the film in an interview with CBS News in 2004. “Annie Hall” and Keaton’s dramatic turn as a dedicated teacher by day and prowler of singles bars at night in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” landed her on the cover of “Time” magazine in Sept 1977. Rolling Stone magazine described her as “the next (Katherine) Hepburn” in its June 30th issue that year.

Keaton was nominated for a lead actress Emmy in 1995 for “Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight” Keaton was also a director, writer, producer, and photographer and had a passion for restoring California mansions. The actress detailed her life in two memoirs, “Then Again” in 2011, in which she said she had suffered from the eating disorder bulimia, and “Let’s Just Say it Wasn’t Pretty” in 2014.

She was equally famous for high-profile romances with her leading men: Allen; Warren Beatty, her co-star and director in “Reds”; and Al Pacino, who played her boyfriend and husband in “The Godfather” films. “Each man had a different decade,” she said in 2013. “Woody was my twenties, Warren was my thirties and Al was borderline: late thirties/early forties.”

Keaton was born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on Jan 5, 1946. She adopted her mother’s maiden name to avoid confusion with another actress with the same moniker. Her father, a civil engineer, andher housekeeper mother moved the family to suburban Santa Ana when Keaton was a child.

Despite her well-publicised romances, she never married. “I think I was really afraid of men and also very attracted to extremely talented people that were dazzling,” she told Elle magazine in 2015. “I don’t think that makes for a good marriage with a person like me, someone who just didn’t adjust well.”

After adopting two children, Dexter and Duke, when she was in her 50s, Keaton said she found a real purpose in her life. “I was very heavily involved in myself. And this changes the whole landscape of your life,” she told CBS News. “I just think they are both miracles.”
REUTERS