LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton, celebrated for her performance in Annie Hall and her role in The Godfather films, has died at age 79.
A family spokesperson confirmed to People magazine that the actress died on Saturday in California.
Details surrounding her death were not immediately available, and Keaton’s loved ones have requested privacy.
Keaton was a frequent collaborator with director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in the 1977 film Annie Hall.
The film also won Academy Awards for best picture, best director and best original screenplay.
Her performance cemented Keaton’s status as one of Hollywood’s top actresses and an offbeat style icon.
The actress made her mark co-starring in eight Allen movies, from Play It Again, Sam in 1972 to Manhattan in 1979 and Manhattan Murder Mystery in 1993.
In The Godfather films, she played Kay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone.
Fans also adored her portrayal as Steve Martin’s wife in the 1991 comedy Father of the Bride.
Late in her career, Keaton starred in two movies about aging women, Book Club in 2018 and Poms in 2019.
A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, Keaton earned Oscar nominations three other times for Reds, Marvin’s Room and Something’s Gotta Give.
She received a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 2017, which described her as unconventional and iconoclastic.
Actress Andie MacDowell, who starred in Unstrung Hero, one of the films Keaton directed, expressed her heartbreak at the loss.
During the Hollywood sexual harassment scandals of 2017, Keaton publicly supported Woody Allen against old accusations.
She stated on Twitter in January 2018 that Allen was her friend and she continued to believe him.
Keaton said she had no Me Too complaints despite half a century in the film industry.
Her infectious, sunny smile lit up the screen across decades of filmmaking.
Keaton popularised a quirky fashion sense first seen in Annie Hall that featured oversize hats and menswear items.
She remarked in a 2019 interview that life actually got easier with aging because you have less to lose.
Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, Keaton was romantically involved with Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty.
She never married, once joking that she was a failure in that regard.
Keaton is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke. – AFP