Goodbye Diane Keaton: The laughter, style will live on

In ‘Marvin’s Room’, Diane Keaton’s character says, “I have had such love in my life. You know, I look back and I have had such, such love.” When I came across the ‘People’ magazine article reporting her passing at 79 in California on Saturday, that line from the film instantly came to mind. Because really, how much love Keaton gave the world, through her laughter, her quirky humour, her performances and that effortlessly cool, kooky sense of style.

One of the finest romantic comedy stars ever, Keaton was far more than just an actor. The Oscar-winning icon redefined what style meant for women in the 1970s, making high-waist trousers, collared shirts and men’s ties look effortlessly chic at a time when flowing maxis, bell-bottoms and peasant blouses were the norm. She played a version of herself in Woody Allen’s 1977 classic ‘Annie Hall’ and won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ for it. Annie’s wardrobe mirrored Keaton’s own and the world instantly had a new fashion icon.

Keaton and Allen continued to collaborate on several films like ‘Sleeper’, ‘Love and Death’, ‘Interiors’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘Manhattan Murder Mystery’ and ‘Play It Again, Sam’ (directed by Herbert Ross). Allen often called her his muse during the early years of his career.

Her film debut was in 1970 with ‘Lovers and Other Strangers’, but it was Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’ (1972) that changed everything. Cast as Kay Adams, Al Pacino’s on-screen love interest, Keaton brought quiet strength and vulnerability to the role. She reprised it in ‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974), which went on to win ‘Best Picture’ and returned once again for ‘The Godfather Part III’ in 1990.

Keaton was never your typical Hollywood leading lady. Intelligent, witty, fiercely independent and delightfully offbeat, she lived life entirely on her own terms. She never married, though she was romantically linked to Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty. Later in life, she embraced motherhood, adopting her daughter Dexter in 1996 and son Duke in 2001. “I had a career and I came to motherhood late and am not married and have never had such a trusting relationship with a man and trust is where the real power of love comes from,” she once said.

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946, Keaton was the eldest of four children. Her father was a civil engineer and her mother, a homemaker with artistic dreams, was the one who fuelled her creative spark. Over five decades, Keaton became one of Hollywood’s most beloved performers, with films like ‘The First Wives Club’, ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ and the ‘Book Club’ series. She often said how much she adored playing the role of a divorced Broadway writer in ‘Something’s Gotta Give’, especially since she loved working with Jack Nicholson.

And who can forget ‘The First Wives Club’, where she teamed up with Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler to deliver one of the most empowering and funny takes on friendship and female resilience in Hollywood? “Diane, we aren’t ready to lose you. You’ve left us with a trail of fairy dust, filled with particles of light and memories beyond imagination,” Hawn posted on social media alongside a photo of Keaton.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Keaton’s nephew in ‘Marvin’s Room’, shared a throwback photo with Keaton on his ‘Instagram Stories’. “Diane Keaton was one of a kind. Brilliant, funny and unapologetically herself. A legend, an icon and a truly kind human being. I had the honour of working with her at 18. She will be deeply missed (sic).”

Keaton never believed in slowing down. She just went all in, having fun and living life exactly the way she wanted. “I never understood the idea that you're supposed to mellow as you get older. Slowing down isn’t something I relate to at all. The goal is to continue in good and bad, all of it,” she once said. Travel well, Annie Hall. There’ll never be another like you. Your laughter, your style and that cool vibe will live on.