Diane Keaton Hall was born on January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Deanne (née Keaton; 1921–2008) and John Newton Ignatius "Jack" Hall (1922–1990),[1] Keaton was the eldest of their four children. Dorothy was ahomemaker andamateur photographer; Jack was a real estate broker and civil engineer. Through hismatriline, Jack was half-Irish.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Keaton was raised aFree Methodist by her mother.[9][10][11] Her mother won the "Mrs. Los Angeles"pageant for homemakers; Keaton said that the theatricality of the event inspired her first impulse to become an actress and ultimately her desire to work on stage.[12] She also creditedKatharine Hepburn, whom she admired for playing strong and independent women, as one of her inspirations.[13]
Keaton began studying acting at theNeighborhood Playhouse in New York City. She initially studied acting under theMeisner technique, anensemble acting technique first evolved in the 1930s bySanford Meisner, a New York stage actor, acting coach and director who had been a member of The Group Theater (1931–1940). She described her acting technique as, "[being] only as good as the person you're acting with ... As opposed to going it on my own and forging my path to create a wonderful performance without the help of anyone. I always need the help of everyone!"[18] According to fellow actorJack Nicholson, "She approaches a script sort of like a play in that she has the entire script memorized before you start doing the movie, which I don't know any other actors doing that."[19]
In 1968, Keaton became an understudy for the part of Sheila in the original Broadway production ofHair.[20] She gained some notoriety for her refusal to disrobe at the end of Act I when the cast performs nude, even though nudity in the production was optional for actors (those who performed nude received a $50 bonus).[12][21] After acting inHair for nine months, she auditioned for a part inWoody Allen's production ofPlay It Again, Sam. After nearly being passed over for being too tall (at 5 ft 8 in (173 cm), she was 2 inches (5 cm) taller than Allen), she won the part.[5] She went on to receive aTony Award nomination for aBest Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the play.[22]
Keaton's breakthrough role came two years later when she was cast asKay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife ofMichael Corleone (played byAl Pacino) inFrancis Ford Coppola's 1972 filmThe Godfather. Coppola noted that he first noticed Keaton inLovers and Other Strangers, and cast her because of her reputation for eccentricity that he wanted her to bring to the role[26] (Keaton claimed that at the time she was commonly referred to as "the kooky actress" of the film industry).[12] Her performance in the film was loosely based on her real-life experience of making the film, both of which she described as being "the woman in a world of men."[12]The Godfather was an unparalleled critical and financial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year and winning the1972Academy Award for Best Picture.[27]
Two years later, she reprised her role as Kay Adams inThe Godfather Part II. She was initially reluctant, saying, "At first, I was skeptical about playing Kay again in theGodfather sequel. But when I read the script, the character seemed much more substantial than in the first film."[15] InPart II, her character changed dramatically, becoming more embittered about her husband's criminal empire. Even though Keaton received widespread exposure from the films, some critics felt that her character's importance was minimal.Time wrote that she was "invisible inThe Godfather and pallid inThe Godfather Part II, but according toEmpire magazine, Keaton "proves the quiet lynchpin which is no mean feat in [the] necessarily male dominated films."[28][29]
In 1976, Keaton starredOff-Broadway in the world premier of theIsrael Horovitz playPrimary English Class atCircle in the Square Theatre.The New York Times review noted, "Keaton gives a delightful portrait of a woman sinking slowly out of control."[31]
In 1977, Keaton won theAcademy Award for Best Actress for Allen'sromantic comedy-dramaAnnie Hall, one of her most famous roles.Annie Hall, written by Allen andMarshall Brickman and directed by Allen, was believed by many to be an autobiographical exploration of his relationship with Keaton. Allen based the character of Annie Hall loosely on Keaton ("Annie" was a nickname of hers, and "Hall" was her original surname). Many of Keaton's mannerisms and self-deprecating sense of humor were added into the role by Allen. (DirectorNancy Meyers has claimed: "Diane's the most self-deprecating person alive."[32]) Keaton also said that Allen wrote the character as an "idealized version" of herself.[33] The two starred as a frequentlyon-again, off-again couple living in New York City. Her acting was later summed up byCNN as "awkward, self-deprecating, speaking in endearing little whirlwinds of semi-logic",[34] and by Allen as a "nervous breakdown in slow motion."[35]Annie Hall emerged as a major critical and commercial success and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Of Keaton's performance,feminist film criticMolly Haskell wrote, "Keaton took me by surprise inAnnie Hall. Here she blossomed into something more than just another kooky dame—she put the finishing touches on a type, the anti-goddess, the goldenshiksa from the provinces who looks cool and together, who looks as if she must have a date on Saturday night, but has only to open her mouth or gulp or dart spastically sideways to reveal herself as the insecure bungler she is, as complete a social disaster in her own way as Allen's horny West Side intellectual is in his."[36] In 2006,Premiere magazine ranked Keaton inAnnie Hall 60th on its list of the "100 Greatest Performances of All Time", and noted:
It's hard to play ditzy. ... The genius of Annie is that despite her loopy backhand, awful driving, and nervous tics, she's also a complicated, intelligent woman. Keaton brilliantly displays this dichotomy of her character, especially when she yammers away on a first date with Alvy (Woody Allen), while the subtitle reads, 'He probably thinks I'm a yoyo.' Yo-yo? Hardly.[37]
Keaton's eccentric wardrobe inAnnie Hall, which consisted mainly of vintage men's clothing, including neckties, vests, baggy pants, andfedora hats, made her an unlikely fashion icon of the late 1970s. A small amount of the clothing seen in the film came from Keaton herself, who was already known for hertomboyish clothing style years beforeAnnie Hall, andRuth Morley designed the film's costumes.[38] Soon after the film's release, men's clothing and pantsuits became popular attire for women.[39] She was known to favor men'svintage clothing, and usually appeared in public wearing gloves and conservative attire. (A 2005 profile in theSan Francisco Chronicle described her as "easy to find. Look for the only woman in sight dressed in a turtleneck. On a 90-degree afternoon in Pasadena.")[40]
Her photo byDouglas Kirkland appeared on the cover of the September 26, 1977, issue ofTime magazine, with the story dubbing her "the funniest woman now working in films."[28] Later that year she departed from her usual lighthearted comic roles when she won the highly coveted lead role in the dramaLooking for Mr. Goodbar, based on thenovel byJudith Rossner. In the film, written and directed byRichard Brooks,[41] she played aCatholic schoolteacher for deaf children who lives a double life, spending nights frequenting singles bars and engaging inpromiscuous sex. Keaton became interested in the role after seeing it as a "psychological case history."[42] The same issue ofTime commended her role choice and criticized the restricted roles available for female actors in American films:
A male actor can fly a plane, fight a war, shoot a badman, pull off a sting, impersonate a big cheese in business or politics. Men are presumed to be interesting. A female can play a wife, play a whore, get pregnant, lose her baby, and, um, let's see ... Women are presumed to be dull. ... Now a determined trend spotter can point to a handful of new films whose makers think that women can bear the dramatic weight of a production alone, or virtually so. Then there is Diane Keaton inLooking for Mr. Goodbar. As Theresa Dunn, Keaton dominates this raunchy, risky, violent dramatization of Judith Rossner's 1975 novel about a schoolteacher who cruises singles bars.[28]
In addition to acting, Keaton said she "had a lifelong ambition to be a singer."[43] She had a brief, unrealized career as a recording artist in the 1970s. Her first record was an original cast recording ofHair, in 1971. In 1977 she began recording tracks for a solo album, but the finished record never materialized.[5]
Keaton met with more success in the medium of still photography. Like her character inAnnie Hall, Keaton had long relished photography as a favorite hobby, an interest she picked up as a teenager from her mother. While traveling in the late 1970s, she began exploring her avocation more seriously. "Rolling Stone had asked me to take photographs for them, and I thought, 'Wait a minute, what I'm really interested in is these lobbies, and these strange ballrooms in these old hotels.' So I began shooting them", she recalled in 2003. "These places were deserted, and I could just sneak in anytime and nobody cared. It was so easy and I could do it myself. It was an adventure for me."Reservations, her collection of photos of hotel interiors, was published in book form in 1980.[44]
1980–1989: Established actress and continued acclaim
WithManhattan (1979), Keaton and Allen ended their long working relationship; it was their last major collaboration until 1993. Then, in 1978, she became romantically involved withWarren Beatty and he cast her opposite him in the epic historical dramaReds.[45] In the film, she playedLouise Bryant, a journalist and feminist, who flees her husband to work with radical journalistJohn Reed (Beatty) and later enters Russia to find him as he chronicles theRussian Civil War.[46] Beatty began developingReds in the 1960s, with historical research and interviews underway by the early 1970s. Following years of development, filming began in 1979.[47]
In a 2006Vanity Fair story, Keaton described her role as "the everyman of that piece, as someone who wanted to be extraordinary but was probably more ordinary ... I knew what it felt like to be extremely insecure."Assistant director Simon Relph later stated that Louise Bryant was one of Keaton's most difficult roles, and that "[she] almost got broken."[48]Reds opened to widespread critical acclaim, and Keaton's performance was highly praised in particular.The New York Times wrote that Keaton was "nothing less than splendid as Louise Bryant – beautiful, selfish, funny and driven. It's the best work she has done to date."[49]Roger Ebert called Keaton "a particular surprise. I had somehow gotten into the habit of expecting her to be a touchy New Yorker, sweet, scared, and intellectual. Here, she is just what she needs to be: plucky, healthy, exasperated, loyal, and funny."[50] Keaton received her second Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance.[51]
The following year, Keaton starred in the domestic dramaShoot the Moon oppositeAlbert Finney. The film follows George (Finney) and Faith Dunlap (Keaton), whose deteriorating marriage, separation, and love affairs devastate their four children.Shoot the Moon received mostly positive reviews from critics and Keaton's performance was again praised. InThe New Yorker,Pauline Kael wrote that the film was "perhaps the most revealing American movie of the era", and that Keaton "may be a star without vanity: she's so completely challenged by the role of Faith that all she cares about is getting the character right. Very few young American movie actresses have the strength and the instinct for the toughest dramatic roles—intelligent, sophisticated heroines.Jane Fonda did, around the time that she appeared inKlute andThey Shoot Horses, Don't They?, but that was more than ten years ago. There hasn't been anybody else until now. Diane Keaton acts on a different plane from that of her previous film roles; she brings the character a full measure of dread and awareness and does it in a special, intuitive way that's right for screen acting."[52]David Denby ofNew York magazine called Keaton "perfectly relaxed and self-assured", adding, "Keaton has always found it easy enough to bring out the anger that lies beneath the soft hesitancy of her surface manner, but she's never dug down and found this much pain before.[53] Keaton's performance garnered her a secondGolden Globe nomination in a row forBest Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, followingReds.[54]
1984 broughtThe Little Drummer Girl, Keaton's first excursion into the thriller and action genre.The Little Drummer Girl was both a financial and critical failure, with critics claiming that Keaton was miscast for the genre, such as one review fromThe New Republic claiming that "the title role, the pivotal role, is played by Diane Keaton, and around her the picture collapses in tatters. She is so feeble, so inappropriate."[55] But the same year, she received positive reviews for her performance inMrs. Soffel, a film based on the true story of a repressed prison warden's wife who falls in love with a convicted murderer and arranges for his escape. Two years later, she starred withJessica Lange andSissy Spacek inCrimes of the Heart, adapted fromBeth Henley'sPulitzer Prize–winning play into a moderately successful screen comedy. Keaton's performance was well received by critics, and Rita Kempley ofThe Washington Post wrote, "As the frumpy Lenny, Keaton eases smoothly from New York neurotic to southern eccentric, a reluctant wallflower stymied by, of all things, her shriveled ovary."[56]
In 1987, Keaton starred inBaby Boom, her first of four collaborations with writer-producerNancy Meyers. She played a Manhattan career woman who is suddenly forced to care for a toddler. A modest box-office success, Keaton's performance was singled out by Kael, who described it as "a glorious comedy performance that rides over many of the inanities in this picture. Keaton is smashing: the Tiger Lady's having all this drive is played for farce and Keaton keeps you alert to every shade of pride and panic the character feels. She's an ultra-feminine executive, a wide-eyed charmer, with a breathless ditziness that may remind you ofJean Arthur inThe More The Merrier."[57] That same year, Keaton made a cameo in Allen's filmRadio Days as a nightclub singer. 1988'sThe Good Mother was a financial disappointment (according to Keaton, the film was "a Big Failure. Like, BIG failure"),[58] and some critics panned her performance; according toThe Washington Post, "her acting degenerates into hype—as if she's trying to sell an idea she can't fully believe in."[59]
In 1987, Keaton directed and edited her first feature film,Heaven, a documentary about the possibility of anafterlife. It met with mixed critical reaction, withThe New York Times likening it to "a conceit imposed on its subjects."[60] Over the next four years, Keaton directed music videos for artists such asBelinda Carlisle, including the video for Carlisle's chart-topping hit "Heaven Is a Place on Earth,"[61] two television films starringPatricia Arquette, and episodes of the seriesChina Beach andTwin Peaks.[62]
1990–1999: Mature roles and reunion with Woody Allen
By the 1990s, Keaton had established herself as one of the most popular and versatile actresses inHollywood. She shifted to more mature roles, frequently playing matriarchs of middle-class families. Of her role choices and avoidance of becomingtypecast, she said: "Most often a particular role does you some good and Bang! You have loads of offers, all of them for similar roles ... I have tried to break away from the usual roles and have tried my hand at several things."[63]
Keaton began the decade withThe Lemon Sisters, a poorly-received comedy-drama that she starred in and produced, which was shelved for a year after its completion.[64] In 1991 she starred withSteve Martin in the family comedyFather of the Bride. She was almost not cast in the film, asThe Good Mother's commercial failure had strained her relationship withWalt Disney Pictures, the studio of both films.[58]Father of the Bride was Keaton's first major hit after four years of commercial disappointments. She reprised her role four years later in thesequel, as a woman who becomes pregnant in middle age at the same time as her daughter. ASan Francisco Examiner review of the film was one of many in which Keaton was once again compared toKatharine Hepburn: "No longer relying on that stuttering uncertainty that seeped into all her characterizations of the 1970s, she has somehow become Katharine Hepburn with a deep maternal instinct, that is, she is a fine and intelligent actress who doesn't need to be tough and edgy in order to prove herfeminism."[65]
Keaton reprised her role of Kay Adams in 1990'sThe Godfather Part III, set 20 years after the end ofThe Godfather, Part II. In 1993, Keaton starred in the black comedy mysteryManhattan Murder Mystery, her first major film role in an Allen film since 1979. Her part was originally intended forMia Farrow, but Farrow was dropped from project after breaking up with Allen.[66]Todd McCarthy ofVariety commended her performance, writing that she "nicely handles her sometimes buffoonish central comedic role".[67]David Ansen ofNewsweek wrote, "On screen, Keaton and Allen have always been made for each other: they still strike wonderfully ditsy sparks".[68] For her performance, Keaton was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.[69]
In 1995, Keaton directedUnstrung Heroes, her first theatrically released narrative film. The film, adapted fromFranz Lidz's memoir, starred Nathan Watt as a boy in the 1960s whose mother (Andie MacDowell) is diagnosed with cancer. As her sickness advances and his inventor father (John Turturro) grows increasingly distant, the boy is sent to live with his two eccentric uncles (Maury Chaykin andMichael Richards). Keaton switched the story's setting from the New York of Lidz's book to the Southern California of her own childhood, and the four mad uncles were reduced to a whimsical odd couple.[70] In an essay forThe New York Times, Lidz said that the cinematic Selma had died not of cancer, but of "Old Movie Disease". "Someday somebody may find a cure for cancer, but the terminal sappiness of cancer movies is probably beyond remedy."[71]Unstrung Heroes played in a relatively limited release and made little impression at the box office, but the film and its direction were generally well-received critically.[72]
Keaton's most successful film of the decade was the 1996 comedyThe First Wives Club. She starred withGoldie Hawn andBette Midler as a trio of "first wives": middle-aged women who had been divorced by their husbands in favor of younger women. Keaton claimed that making the film "saved [her] life."[73] The film was a major success, grossing US$105 million at the North American box office,[74] and it developed acult following among middle-aged women.[75] Its reviews were generally positive for Keaton and her co-stars, and theSan Francisco Chronicle called her "probably [one of] the best comic film actresses alive."[76] In 1997 Keaton, Hawn, and Midler received theWomen in FilmCrystal Award, which honors "outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry."[77]
Also in 1996, Keaton starred as Bessie, a woman withleukemia, inMarvin's Room, an adaptation of the play byScott McPherson.Meryl Streep played her estranged sister, Lee, and had also initially been considered for the role of Bessie. The film also starredLeonardo DiCaprio as Lee's rebellious son.Roger Ebert wrote, "Streep and Keaton, in their different styles, find ways to make Lee and Bessie into much more than the expression of their problems."[78] Keaton earned a third Academy Award nomination for the film, which was critically acclaimed. She said the role's biggest challenge was understanding the mentality of a person with a terminal illness.[12] Keaton next starred inThe Only Thrill (1997) opposite herBaby Boom co-starSam Shephard,[79] and had a supporting role inThe Other Sister (1999).[80]
In 1999, Keaton narrated the one-hour public radio documentary "If I Get Out Alive", the first to focus on the conditions and brutality young people face in the adult correctional system. The program, produced byLichtenstein Creative Media, aired on public radio stations across the country and was honored with a First Place National Headliner Award and a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.[81]
Keaton's first film of 2000 wasHanging Up, withMeg Ryan andLisa Kudrow. She directed the film, despite claiming in a 1996 interview that she would never direct herself in a film, saying "as a director, you automatically have different goals. I can't think about directing when I'm acting."[58] A drama about three sisters coping with the senility and eventual death of their elderly father (Walter Matthau),Hanging Up rated poorly with critics and grossed a modest $36 million at the North American box office.[82]
In 2001, Keaton co-starred with Beatty inTown & Country, a critical and financial fiasco. Budgeted at an estimated $90 million, the film opened to little notice and grossed only $7 million in its North American theatrical run.[83]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone wrote thatTown & Country was "less deserving of a review than it is an obituary....The corpse took with it the reputations of its starry cast, including Beatty and Keaton."[84] In 2001 and 2002, Keaton starred in four low-budget television films. She played a fanatical nun in the religious dramaSister Mary Explains It All,[85] an impoverished mother in the dramaOn Thin Ice,[86] and a bookkeeper in themob comedyPlan B.[87] InCrossed Over, she played Beverly Lowry, a woman who forms an unusual friendship with the only woman executed while on death row in Texas,Karla Faye Tucker.[88]
Keaton in 2009
Keaton's first major hit since 1996 came with the 2003 romantic comedySomething’s Gotta Give, directed byNancy Meyers and co-starringJack Nicholson. According to Meyers, studios initially passed on the project, with the director recalling that "no one wanted to see people of a certain age be sexy."[89] Keaton toldLadies' Home Journal, "Let's face it, people my age and Jack's age are much deeper, much more soulful, because they've seen a lot of life. They have a great deal of passion andhope—why shouldn't they fall in love? Why shouldn't movies show that?"[90] Keaton played a middle-aged playwright who falls in love with her daughter's much older boyfriend. The film was a major success at the box office, grossing $125 million in North America.[91]Roger Ebert wrote, "Keaton and Nicholson bring so much experience, knowledge and humor to their characters that the film works in ways the screenplay might not have even hoped for."[92] Keaton received her fourth Academy Award nomination for her performance.[93]
Keaton's only film between 2004 and 2006 was the comedyThe Family Stone (2005), starring anensemble cast. In the film, scripted and directed byThomas Bezucha, Keaton played a breast cancer survivor and matriarch of a bigNew England family that reunites at the parents' home for its annual Christmas holidays.[94] The film released to moderate critical and commercial success,[95] and earned $92.2 million worldwide.[96] Keaton received her secondSatellite Award nomination for her performance,[97] of which Peter Travers ofRolling Stone wrote, "Keaton, a sorceress at blending humor and heartbreak, honors the film with a grace that makes it stick in the memory."[98]
In 2007, Keaton starred in bothBecause I Said So andMama's Boy. In the romantic comedyBecause I Said So, directed byMichael Lehmann, Keaton played a long-divorced mother of three daughters, determined to pair off her only single daughter, Milly (Mandy Moore).[99] Also starringStephen Collins andGabriel Macht, the project opened to overwhelmingly negative reviews, withWesley Morris ofThe Boston Globe calling it "a sloppily made bowl of reheated chick-flick cliches", and was ranked among the worst-reviewed films of the year.[100][101][102] The following year Keaton received her first and onlyGolden Raspberry Award nomination to date for the film.[97][unreliable source?] InMama's Boy, director Tim Hamilton's feature film debut, Keaton starred as the mother of a self-absorbed 29-year-old (Jon Heder) whose world turns upside down when she starts dating and considers kicking him out of the house. Distributed for a limited release to certain parts of the United States only, the independent comedy garnered largely negative reviews.[103]
In 2008, Keaton starred alongsideDax Shepard andLiv Tyler in Vince Di Meglio'sdramedySmother, playing the overbearing mother of an unemployed therapist, who decides to move in with him and his girlfriend after breaking up with her husband (Ken Howard). As withMama's Boy, the film received a limited release only, resulting in a gross of $1.8 million worldwide.[104] Critical reaction to the film was generally unfavorable.[105] Also in 2008, Keaton appeared alongsideKatie Holmes andQueen Latifah in the crime-comedy filmMad Money, directed byCallie Khouri. Based on the British television dramaHot Money (2001), the film revolves around three female employees of theFederal Reserve who scheme to steal money that is about to be destroyed.[106]
In 2010, Keaton starred alongsideRachel McAdams andHarrison Ford inRoger Michell's comedyMorning Glory, playing the veteran TV host of a fictionalmorning talk show that desperately needs to boost its lagging ratings. Portraying a narcissistic character who will do anything to please the audience, Keaton described her role as "the kind of woman you love to hate."[107] Inspired byNeil Simon's 1972 Broadway playThe Sunshine Boys,[108] the film was a moderate success at the box office, taking a worldwide total of almost $59 million.[109] Keaton was generally praised for her performance, with James Berardinelli ofReelViews writing, "Keaton is so good at her part that one can see her sliding effortlessly into an anchor's chair on a real morning show."[110]
In fall 2010, Keaton joined the production of the comedy-dramaDarling Companion byLawrence Kasdan, which was released in 2012. Co-starringKevin Kline andDianne Wiest and set inTelluride, Colorado,[111] the film follows a woman, played by Keaton, whose husband loses her much-beloved dog at a wedding held at their vacation home in theRocky Mountains, resulting in a search party to find the pet.[112] Kasdan's first film in nine years, the filmbombed at the U.S. box office, where it scored about $790,000 throughout its entire theatrical run.[113] Critics dismissed the film as "an overwritten, underplotted vanity project" but applauded Keaton's performance.[114][115] Ty Burr ofThe Boston Globe wrote that the film "would be instantly forgettable if not for Keaton, who imbues [her role] with a sorrow, warmth,wisdom, and rage that feel earned [...] Her performance here is an extension of worn, resilient grace."[115]
Also in 2011, Keaton began production onJustin Zackham's 2013 ensemble family comedyThe Big Wedding, a remake of the 2006 French filmMon frère se marie in which she, along withRobert De Niro, played a long-divorced couple who, for the sake of their adopted son's wedding and his very religious biological mother, pretend they are still married.[116] The film received largely negative reviews.[117]
In 2014, Keaton starred inAnd So It Goes and5 Flights Up. InRob Reiner's romantic dramedyAnd So It Goes, Keaton portrayed a widowed lounge singer who finds autumnal love with abad boy (Michael Douglas).[118] The film received largely negative reviews. One critic wrote that "And So It Goes aims for comedy, but with two talented actors stuck in a half-hearted effort from a once-mighty filmmaker, it ends in unintentional tragedy."[119] Keaton co-starred withMorgan Freeman inRichard Loncraine's comedy-drama5 Flights Up, based onJill Ciment's novelHeroic Measures. They play a long-married couple who have an eventful weekend after they are forced to contemplate selling their belovedBrooklyn apartment.[120][121] Shot in New York, the film premiered, under its former nameRuth & Alex, at the2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[122] The same year Keaton became the first woman to receive the Golden Lion Award at theZurich Film Festival.[123][124]
Keaton's only film of 2015 wasLove the Coopers, an ensemble comedy about a troubled family getting together for Christmas, for which she reunited withBecause I Said So writerJessie Nelson.[125] Also starringJohn Goodman,Ed Helms, andMarisa Tomei, Keaton was attached for several years before the film went into production.[125] Her casting was instrumental in financing and recruiting most of the other actors, which led her to an executive producer credit in the film.[125]Love the Coopers received largely negative reviews from critics, who called it a "bittersweet blend of holiday cheer",[126] and became a moderate commercial success at a worldwide total of $41.1 million against a budget of $17 million.[127] Also in 2015Netflix announced the comedyDivanation, for which Keaton was expected to reunite with herFirst Wives Club co-stars Midler and Hawn to portray a former singing group, but the project failed to materialize.[128]
In 2017, Keaton appeared oppositeBrendan Gleeson in the British dramedy filmHampstead.[133] Based on the life ofHarry Hallowes, it depicts an American widow (Keaton) who helps a local man defending his ramshackle hut and the life he has been leading onHampstead Heath for 17 years.[134] The specialty release had a mixed reception from critics, who were unimpressed by the film's "deeply mediocre story",[135] but became a minor commercial success.[136] Keaton's only project of 2018 wasBook Club, in which she,Jane Fonda,Candice Bergen, andMary Steenburgen play four friends who readFifty Shades of Grey as part of their monthlybook club and subsequently begin to change how they view their personal relationships. The romantic comedy received mixed reviews from critics, who felt thatBook Club only "intermittently rises to the level of its impressiveveteran cast,"[137][138] but with a worldwide gross of over $100 million, became Keaton's biggest commercial success in a non-voice role since 2003'sSomething's Gotta Give.[139]
In 2022, Keaton played the older version of a 30-year-old woman (Elizabeth Lail) who transforms into her 70-year-old self. The film was released to negative reviews from critics and earned Keaton her secondGolden Raspberry Award nomination in theWorst Actress category.[143] Also in 2022, she released the photography‑bookSaved and collaborated on a textile collection with high‑end textiles brand S. Harris on a collection of over 50 fabrics, calledElements by Diane Keaton.[144][145] In 2023, Keaton starred oppositeRichard Gere,Susan Sarandon, andWilliam H. Macy inMichael Jacobs's directorial debutMaybe I Do. A romantic comedy about a couple whose plans for marriage are upended when they discover their parents are entangled in affairs with one another, it was released to moderate reviews form critics, who called the film a "subpar rom-com."[146] Also in 2023, Keaton reteamed with Fonda, Bergen, and Steenburgen on the sequel filmBook Club: The Next Chapter, which follows the quartet reuniting for a trip to Italy. Released to similar critical reception, the film performed below expectations, grossing only a third of its predecessor.[147]
In 2024, co-starred withPatricia Hodge andLulu in the British body-change comedy filmArthur's Whisky about three friends that drink a secret elixir that reverses aging. The project earned positive reviews from critics,[148] who noted that the cast felt "random" but had "pleasant chemistry."[149] Also that year, Keaton authored and released a fashion book titledFashion First, reflecting on her style and career,[150] and collaborated with home décor brand Hudson Grace on a major home‑decor collection, releasing over 100 pieces in August.[151] Keaton's final appearance was in the 2024 comedy filmSummer Camp about three lifelong friends who reunite at a summer‑camp reunion. Written and directed byCastille Landon and co-starringKathy Bates andAlfre Woodard, the film received largely negative reviews from critics.[152][153] In November 2024, Keaton released her first-ever solo single, theChristmas song "First Christmas," written byCarole Bayer Sager andJonas Myrin, through Duva Music.[154]
Keaton was called "one of the great American actresses from the heyday of the 1970s", a style icon and a "treasure" with a personal and professional style that is "difficult to explicate and impossible to duplicate."[155][156][157] Many critics have pointed to her versatility in starring in both light comedies and acclaimed dramas.The New York Times described Keaton as "remarkably skilled" at portraying Woody Allen's "darling flustered muse" in his comedies, as well as "shy, self-conscious women overcome by the power of their own awakened eroticism" in dramatic films likeLooking for Mr. Goodbar,Reds,Shoot the Moon andMrs. Soffel.[158] It also noted Keaton's ability to consistently reinvent and challenge herself on screen, having transitioned from "Allen's ditzy foil" to a "gifted and erotically nuanced character actress" and later "an appealing maternal figure ... a woman's woman with a sexy edge."[158][159]
Literary criticDaphne Merkin argued that Keaton remained more popular with audiences than her contemporaries because of her "friendly accessibility" and "charmingly self-effacing" persona, calling Keaton's most "steadfastly glamorous" asset her "megawatt personality, bursting out of her like an uncontrollable force of nature, a geyser of quirkily entertaining traits that fall on the air and lend everything around her a momentary sparkle."[158] InNew York magazine,Peter Rainer wrote, "In herAnnie Hall days, [Keaton] was famed for her thrown-together fashion sense, and her approach to acting is, in the best way, thrown-together, too. Audiences love her because they identify with the women she plays, who are never all of a piece. Nobody can be grave and goofy all at once like Diane Keaton. In these fractious times, it's the perfect combo for a modern heroine."[160] Famously self-deprecating, Keaton was noted for her "wry sense of humor" and "eccentric gender-bending style".[161]
Analyzing her on-screen persona, Deborah C. Mitchell wrote that Keaton often played "a complex, modern American woman, a paradox of self-doubt and assurance", which became her trademark. Mitchell suggests that Keaton madeAnnie Hall a "critical juncture for women in American culture. In this ism-infected age, Keaton became not just a star but an icon. Annie Hall, and with her Diane Keaton, presented all of the uncertainty and ambivalence of the new breed of women."[162] Likewise, Bruce Weber felt Keaton's eccentricity — "an amalgam of caginess and insecurity" and a "note of comic desperation... her round-cheeked Annie Hall dewiness"—was her gift as a screen comedian.[157] Keaton's Annie Hall is often cited among the greatest Oscar-winning performances in history:Entertainment Weekly ranked it 7th on its "25 greatest Best Actress Winners" list, praising her "loopy mannerisms, jazz-club serenades, and endlessly imitated fashion sense."[163] After seeing her performance inLooking for Mr. Goodbar,Andrew Sarris remarked, "Keaton is clearly the most dynamic woman star in pictures. And any actress who can bring wit and humor to sex in an American movie has to be blessed with the most winning magic."[164]
When asked what made Keaton funny, Allen said: "My opinion is that with the exception ofJudy Holliday, she's the finest screen comedienne we've ever seen. It's in her intonation; you can't quantify it easily. WhenGroucho Marx orW. C. Fields or Holliday would say something, it's in the ring of their voices, and she has that. It's never line comedy with her. It's all character comedy."[157]Charles Shyer, who directed her inBaby Boom, said Keaton was "in the mold of the iconic comedic actressesCarole Lombard,Irene Dunne andRosalind Russell."[165] In 2017, Keaton was chosen by the board of directors of theAmerican Film Institute to receive theAFI Life Achievement Award, whichWoody Allen presented to her.[166]
Keaton was romantically involved with several high-profile entertainment-industry personalities, starting with Woody Allen when she played a role in the 1969 Broadway production ofPlay It Again, Sam, which he had written. Their relationship turned romantic following a dinner after a late-night rehearsal. Her sense of humor particularly attracted him.[167] They briefly lived together during the production, but by the time the film came out, in 1972, their living arrangement had become more informal.[168] They worked together on eight films between 1971 and 1993, and Keaton said that Allen remained one of her closest friends.[33] In 2017, Keaton stated that she visits Allen and his wife whenever she's in New York and said of Allen: "He is so hilarious and I just adored him, I really did."[169]
Keaton was also in a relationship with herGodfather trilogy co-star Al Pacino. Theiron-again, off-again relationship ended after they wrapped filmingThe Godfather Part III. Keaton said of Pacino, "Al was simply the most entertaining man ... To me, that's, that is the most beautiful face. I think Warren [Beatty] was gorgeous, very pretty, but Al's face is like whoa. Killer, killer face."[170] In 2017, Keaton elaborated: "I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker. There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!”[169] Following her death in 2025, Pacino said: "Diane was my partner, my friend, someone who brought me happiness and on more than one occasion influenced the direction of my life. Though over thirty years has past since we were together, the memories remain vivid, and with her passing, they have returned with a force that is both painful and moving... I will always remember her. She could fly — and in my heart, she always will."[171]
Keaton was already dating Warren Beatty in 1979 when they co-starred in the filmReds (1981).[172] Keaton said of him: "He is just a brilliant character. So complex and charming."[169] Beatty was a regular subject oftabloid and other media coverage, and Keaton became included, much to her bewilderment. In 1985,Vanity Fair called her "the most reclusive star sinceGarbo".[17] This relationship ended shortly afterReds wrapped. Troubles with the production are thought to have strained the relationship, including numerous financial and scheduling problems.[48] Keaton remained friends with Beatty.[33]
In her fifties, she adopted two children — a daughter in 1996 and a son in 2001.[173][174] She later stated: "Motherhood has completely changed me. It's just about like the most completely humbling experience that I've ever had."[175]
Keaton said she produced her 1987 documentaryHeaven because "I was always pretty religious as a kid ... I was primarily interested in religion because I wanted to go to heaven." When she grew up, Keaton becameagnostic.[176]
Keaton was avegetarian from around 1995 on.[177][178] She continued to pursue photography. In 1987, she toldVanity Fair, "I have amassed a huge library of images—kissing scenes from movies, pictures I like. Visual things are really key for me."[176] She published several collections of her photographs and served as an editor of collections of vintage photography. Works she edited include a book of photographs bypaparazzoRon Galella, an anthology of reproductions of clown paintings, and a collection of photos of California's Spanish-Colonial-style houses.[179]
Keaton served as a producer on films and television series. She produced theFox seriesPasadena, which was canceled after airing only four episodes in 2001 but completed its run oncable in 2005.[180] In 2003, she produced theGus Van Sant dramaElephant, about aschool shooting. Of why she produced the film, she said, "It really makes me think about my responsibilities as an adult to try and understand what's going on with young people."[181]
From 2005, Keaton was a contributing blogger atThe Huffington Post. From 2006, she was the face ofL'Oréal.[182] In 2007, she received theFilm Society of Lincoln Center's Gala Tribute.[183] She opposedplastic surgery. She toldMore magazine in 2004, "I'm stuck in this idea that I need to be authentic ... My face needs to look the way I feel."[13]
Keaton was also a real estate developer. She resold several mansions inSouthern California after renovating and redesigning them. One of her clients wasMadonna, who purchased a $6.5 millionBeverly Hills mansion from Keaton in 2003.[186]
Keaton wrote her first memoir,Then Again, forRandom House in November 2011.[187] Much of it relied on her mother's private journals, which included the line "Diane...is a mystery...At times, she's so basic, at others so wise, it frightens me."[188] In 2012, Keaton's audiobook recording ofJoan Didion'sSlouching Towards Bethlehem was released onAudible.com.[189] Her performance was nominated for a 2013Audie Award in the Short Stories/Collections category.[190]
Keaton's health had declined significantly in the months leading up to her death, though she remained private about her condition. She died atSaint John's Health Center inSanta Monica, California, on October 11, 2025, at age 79.[191][192][193] No autopsy was performed, but her death certificate listedbacterial pneumonia as the cause of death, with no other significant conditions noted as contributing factors. She had the condition in the days prior to being taken to the hospital on the morning of October 11.[194] She was cremated three days later.[195]
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
