Diane Keaton, Beloved Star Of “Father Of The Bride” And “The First Wives Club,” Dies At 79
It’s Diane Keaton’s death. Her age was 79.
The renowned actress passed away in California, according to PEOPLE. According to a family spokesman, her loved ones have requested privacy and additional information is not currently accessible.
Keaton’s involvement in The Godfather movies and her partnerships with director Woody Allen helped her become well-known in the 1970s. Her performance in the 1977 film Annie Hall earned her an Oscar for Best Actress. Throughout her lengthy career, she worked with filmmaker Nancy Meyers on several projects, including The First Wives Club and the Book Club franchise.
The actress was the eldest of four children and was born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946. Her mother stayed at home while her father worked as a civil engineer.
Still, Keaton thought her mother dreamed of something bigger. “Secretly in her heart of hearts she probably wanted to be an entertainer of some kind,” the actress told PEOPLE in 2004.
Keaton participated in plays during her high school years and went on to study drama in college after graduating in 1964. However, she quickly left school and relocated to New York in an attempt to break into the theater industry. Since there was already a Diane Hall registered with Actors’ Equity, she chose to use her mother’s maiden name, Keaton, as her professional name.
In 1968, Keaton was cast in Broadway’s Hair as the understudy for Sheila. In 2017, Keaton told PEOPLE that she struggled with bulimia during this time after the director of the show told her she needed to lose weight, though she didn’t blame him for her illness.
“I became a master at hiding. Hiding any evidence — how do you make sure no one knows? You live a lifestyle that is very strange. You’re living a lie,”
After that, Keaton starred in Allen’s 1969 Broadway production of Play It Again, Sam. For the part, she was nominated for a Tony.
Her major break came when Francis Ford Coppola cast her as Kay Adams, the girlfriend of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, in the 1972 picture The Godfather. She had made her cinematic debut in the 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers. Keaton didn’t read the best-selling book before her audition, so she wasn’t fully aware of the plot of the movie, which was based on Mario Puzo’s book.
“I think the kindest thing that someone’s ever done for me … is that I got cast to be in The Godfather and I didn’t even read it. I didn’t know a single thing,”
The movie was a huge hit and took home the Best Picture Oscar. In the successful and Best Picture-winning 1974 film The Godfather Part II, Keaton returned to her role. She made a comeback for the last movie, The Godfather Part III, in 1990.
Keaton also continued to collaborate with Allen, appearing in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, released in 1972, 1973’s Sleeper and 1975’s Love and Death. Despite her early success, Keaton’s insecurities still plagued her, and she would never watch her own films.
Keaton played the titular role in Allen’s 1977 film Annie Hall. For the part, she was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress. The movie solidified the actress’ status as a style icon, and Annie’s outfit was modeled after Keaton’s own, complete with structured pants, vests, and menswear. Many conjectured that Keaton and Allen’s relationship served as the inspiration for the film.
Allen and Keaton would work together once more in the films Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). She also stood up for Allen after his stepdaughter Dylan Farrow accused him of sexual abuse. In 2014, she declared to The Guardian,
Keaton’s other film roles included 1977’s Looking for Mr. Goodbar, 1981’s Reds, 1982’s Shoot the Moon and 1984’s The Little Drummer Girl. She worked with Meyers for the first time on 1987’s Baby Boom. They would reunite three more times: in 1991’s Father of the Bride, 1995’s Father of the Bride Part II and 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give, which garnered another Oscar nom for Keaton. Asked which of these projects she loved the most, Keaton told Vulture in 2020,
Keaton costarred with Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn in the 1996 film The First Wives Club, which told the story of three women whose husbands had abandoned them for younger women. All three of them sang Lesley Gore’s
The Family Stone, Because I Said So, Finding Dory, Book Club (and its sequel), and Poms were among Keaton’s latter roles. She starred in HBO’s 2016 miniseries The Young Pope, marking a rare TV appearance. In addition, Keaton directed an episode of Twin Peaks, the documentary Heaven in 1987, and Hanging Up in 2000.
Keaton featured in Justin Bieber’s “Ghost” music video in 2021. She was also a frequent Instagram user, sharing life updates, thoughts about her friendships and work, and compliments for the people she cared about.
Looking back on her career, Keaton told PEOPLE in 2019, “I don’t know anything, and I haven’t learned. Getting older hasn’t made me wiser. Without acting I would have been a misfit.”
Keaton never married. “Today I was thinking, I’m the only one in my generation of actresses who has been a single woman all her life,” she explained to PEOPLE in 2019.
She was romantically linked to Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty throughout her life. “Talent is so damn attractive,” she noted to PEOPLE.
Keaton had two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted in 1996 and 2001, respectively
Keaton’s children survive her.
Here’s what is confirmed:
- Diane Keaton has dealt with skin cancer over many years, including basal cell carcinoma (diagnosed around age 21) and squamous cell carcinoma, which required surgery.
- She has publicly said that skin cancer has “dogged her entire adult life.”
No matter what took her from us, her legacy and spirit will live forever through her incredible body of work. Rest in peace, Diane.
Female Rapper Sues Lyft After Driver Refused To Pick Her Up For This Reason
A Detroit rapper has taken a stand—and hit the headlines—for an incident that began as a simple Lyft ride and escalated into a high-stakes legal matter with implications for civil rights in Michigan and beyond. Performing under the name Dank Demoss, Dajua Blanding, 36, ordered a Lyft earlier this month. When the driver—a man in a Mercedes sedan—arrived, he locked the car doors and abruptly canceled the ride, insisting she was “too big” to fit and that her weight might even “burst his tires.”
Blanding captured the chilling interaction on video, telling the driver, “I’ve been in cars smaller than that.” The footage quickly went viral, igniting fierce debate. Some observers defended the driver, suggesting that Blanding should have booked a larger vehicle like Lyft XL or that drivers have the right to decline rides if they feel unsafe. But Blanding’s legal team argues that More than discomfort—this was illegal discrimination, unchecked under Michigan law. Michigan’s Unique Legal Protections
Unlike nearly every other state, Michigan’s Elliott–Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) explicitly lists weight and height among protected characteristics—alongside race, religion, age, sex, and more. Since taking effect in 1977, ELCRA has made it unlawful to discriminate against individuals in employment, housing, or public spaces based on their weight or height
Wikipedia This legal framework gives Blanding a strong position: refusing her service on purely weight-based grounds is treated on par with denying someone based on race or gender. The Human Toll. Beyond legal technicalities, this incident caused real emotional harm. Blanding said she felt humiliated and stranded—consequences that go well beyond a canceled ride. Her attorneys, Jonathan Marko and Zach Runyan, have demanded damages and emotional redress, arguing such refusals aren’t just offensive—they’re dangerous. Runyan emphasized that predictively denying someone transit based on size can escalate into life-threatening situations. The Michigan Chronicle.
WDIV Lyft’s Response. Lyft responded with a statement condemning all forms of discrimination and reaffirming its community guidelines that demand respect for all riders. WDIV. San Francisco Chronicle. However, the company also noted that drivers are independent contractors—not employees—a legal nuance that may significantly impact liability.
A Broader Movement. Blanding’s case isn’t isolated. Weight stigma affects countless individuals—but legal protections like Michigan’s remain rare. One Harvard review found that Michigan is still the only state that explicitly protects against body-size discrimination
content.sph.harvard.edu. TIME In contrast, other regions have local ordinances. For example, cities like San Francisco and New York City ban weight discrimination, but the protection isn’t statewideue.org. Fueling Dialogue Across Communities
The incident reignites a broader conversation: How do we balance driver discretion with rider rights? At what point does concern for vehicle safety become a shield for bias? Organizations like Being That Girl, committed to fostering confidence and self-love in women, underscore the emotional fallout. As one representative said, “This isn’t just about getting to your destination—it’s about being seen and respected as a whole person.” What Lies Ahead. Blanding has filed her suit in Wayne County Circuit Court seeking damages and accountability under Michigan law The Michigan Chronicle
People.com. Her case may test the boundaries of public accommodation laws, redefine rideshare policies, and challenge how society confronts deeply ingrained weight biases. Will Lyft be required to train drivers more thoroughly? Could this case inspire other states to adopt similar protections? For now, Dank Demoss’s courage in capturing and refusing to let the moment go viral has sparked a vital legal and social reckoning—one ride at a time.
