Diane Keaton died of pneumonia, the Oscar-winning actor’s family have revealed, as they expressed their thanks for the “extraordinary” response to her death last week.
“The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane, who passed away from pneumonia on October 11,” the family said in a statement to People.
They directed anyone wanting to make donations in her honour towards causes she believed in: “She loved her animals and she was steadfast in her support of the unhoused community, so any donations in her memory to a local food bank or an animal shelter would be a wonderful and much appreciated tribute to her.”
Keaton died in California at the age of 79. An enduring and singular icon of cinema since her Oscar-winning turn in 1977’s Annie Hall – which her director, writer, co-star and former boyfriend Woody Allen based heavily on her own life – Keaton starred in some of the key movies of the last half century, including The Godfather and its sequels, Reds, Marvin’s Room, Something’s Gotta Give, Father of the Bride and The First Wives Club.
Her death came as a shock across Hollywood and the rest of the world; though she had not been in the public eye for some months, no illness had been announced.
After her death, People quoted a source close to the actor saying that Keaton’s health had “declined very suddenly” over recent months and that even many of her longtime friends “weren’t fully aware of what was happening”.
Many of her former co-stars, including Woody Allen, Jane Fonda, Keanu Reeves, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep, paid tribute to her.
Keaton never married. She is survived by her two younger sisters, Dorrie and Robin, and her two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted in 1996 and 2001. “Motherhood has completely changed me,” she once said. “It’s just about like the most completely humbling experience that I’ve ever had.”
