The star who helped define the modern woman won the Academy Award for best actress for \u201cAnnie Hall\u201d and gave the world her \u201cla di da\u201d line from that film, something she reflected on decades later in an interview with CBS\u2019s Katie Couric.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never said la di da in my life until he wrote it,\u201d she told Couric. <\/a>\u201cBut I was a person who couldn\u2019t complete a sentence,\u201d she said \u2014 so \u201che did get that right.\u201d<\/p>\n With her refusal to just play polished female roles, Keaton helped to redefine what a leading woman could look and sound like. Her characters were layered, complex and independent.<\/p>\n Diane Keaton in Baby Boom – United Artists\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n She kept that up with later roles including 1987\u2019s \u201cBaby Boom,\u201d 1981\u2019s \u201cReds,\u201d 2003\u2019s Something\u2019s Gotta Give and 2018\u2019s \u201cBook Club.\u201d<\/p>\n Keaton said she learned it at home.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a mother who encouraged that and helped me achieve the things I wanted to achieve,\u201d she said.<\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve followed the paths I\u2019ve wanted to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n That meant blazing a trail in Hollywood with roles in everything from \u201cThe Godfather\u201d trilogy to voicing the character of Jenny in the animated film \u201cFinding Dory.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes even she couldn\u2019t believe her own career.<\/p>\n During an \u201cask me anything\u201d session on Instagram Stories in 2023 <\/a>she reportedly inquired of famed director Francis Ford Coppola \u201cWhy on Earth did you choose me for The Godfather?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI chose you because, although you were to play the more straight-vanilla wife, there was something more about you, deeper, funnier, and very interesting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Her ability to infuse a bit of herself into every character always showed on the screen.<\/p>\n Keaton followed her heart in work, fashion and architecture, all of which she which she loved. But she charted how own path especially in her personal life.<\/p>\n Al Pacino and Diane Keaton in The Godfather. – Courtesy Everett Collection\/<\/p>\n Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton circa 1978. – Sonia Moskowitz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n While she had high profile romances with fellow stars Woody Allen, Al Pacino and Warren Beatty, Keaton never married.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it would have been a good idea for me to have married, and I\u2019m really glad I didn\u2019t, and I\u2019m sure they\u2019re happy about it, too,\u201d she told People magazine <\/a>about being a perpetual bachelorette.<\/p>\n She also tied this choice back to her own mother when she talked to Interview magazine in 2021.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd she was just the best mother, but I think that she is the reason why I didn\u2019t get married. I didn\u2019t want to give up my independence,\u201d Keaton said at the time. \u201cBy the way, no one has ever asked me to marry them, either, so that might be a good answer. I should\u2019ve started with that and called it a day.\u201d<\/p>\n Keaton began her own motherhood journey in her fifties after adopting newly born daughter Dexter in 1996 and toddler son Duke in 2001.<\/p>\n \u201cMotherhood was not an urge I couldn\u2019t resist,\u201d she told Ladies Home Journal as reported by People. <\/a>\u201cIt was more like a thought I\u2019d been thinking for a very long time. So I plunged in.\u201d<\/p>\n She loved her children fiercely and that was returned.<\/p>\n In 2022, her daughter posted a rare photo of their family<\/a> celebrating the TCL Chinese Theatre hosting a hand and footprint ceremony in honor of the actress.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat an amazing day honoring my momma!,\u201d Keaton\u2019s daughter wrote in the caption. \u201cI am so proud of you and this is an incredible honor. I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n Keaton also had a maternal affect on others.<\/p>\n On Saturday Reese Witherspoon told a crowd at an event <\/a>where she was speaking that Keaton had passed away and tried not to get emotional as she shared a personal story.<\/p>\n Witherspoon said she was 15 and new to acting when she met Keaton after auditioning. The legendary star was taken aback, Witherspoon shared, by the teen from Nashville\u2019s strong southern accent.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you making that up?\u201d Witherspoon said Keaton asked her. \u201cThat accent that you\u2019re doing?\u201d<\/p>\n After Witherspoon assured her it was genuine, Keaton hired her. The younger actress starred in the made for TV film \u201cWildflower\u201d with Keaton as director.<\/p>\n Keaton was one of her first mentors, Witherspoon said, adding that the late actress was \u201cjust incredible, indelible and just a truly original person.\u201d<\/p>\n Witherspoon encouraged the crowd to \u201cwatch one of her movies and wear like a really cool, interesting outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust live your dream, just be your unique, interesting self,\u201d Witherspoon concluded. \u201cI think Diane would be really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Diane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/f582f18ca2dd057da15546134bc230d8.jpeg\"\/)
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