Diane Keaton, star of "Father of the Bride," "The First Wives Club" and more, has died at the age of 79. People magazine confirmed that the actress died in California. Further details have not yet been released, and the actress’s family has asked for privacy.
Keaton broke through in the 1970s thanks to her role in Francis Ford Coppola’s "The Godfather" films and her collaborations with director Woody Allen. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in "Annie Hall" (1977). Over a long career she also appeared in "The First Wives Club," in several films by director Nancy Meyers, and in the "Book Club" comedy franchise.
She was born in Los Angeles in 1946 as Diane Hall, the eldest of four children. Her father was a civil engineer and her mother a homemaker.
After studying theater in high school, she moved to New York and enrolled in drama studies, but she quickly dropped out to try her luck on the stage. She adopted her mother’s maiden name, Keaton, as her stage name because there was already an actress named Diane Hall in the actors’ union.
In 1968, she was cast as a replacement in the role of Sheila in the Broadway musical "Hair." Years later she revealed that at that time she suffered from bulimia following a remark by the show’s director. "It wasn’t his fault," she said then. "It was an illness — an endless need for more and more. I learned to hide everything, to live a lie." Keaton recovered with the help of therapy, but she admitted that the illness robbed her of the ability to enjoy the stage.
She later starred in Woody Allen’s play "Play It Again, Sam," for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. In 1970 she made her film debut in "Lovers and Other Strangers," but her big break came when Francis Ford Coppola cast her as Kay Adams, Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) girlfriend, in "The Godfather" (1972). The film became a huge success and won the Oscar for Best Picture, and Keaton returned for its two sequels. At the same time she continued to collaborate with Allen.
Despite her success, she said she had difficulty watching herself: "I just don’t like how I look and sound."