Diane Keaton’s family has shared sorrowful details following the announcement of the cherished star’s passing due to pneumonia.
In a heartfelt statement, the Oscar-winning actress’s relatives expressed that the 79-year-old died on October 11, surrounded by her closest family and friends.
The Los Angeles Fire Department reported they were dispatched to Keaton’s residence shortly after 8am on Saturday (October 11), with paramedics present, and one person was transported to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced deceased.
At that moment, a spokesperson for Keaton’s family requested ‘privacy in this moment of great sadness’.
The actor’s family has now expressed gratitude to fans for their support and highlighted her love for animals while revealing her cause of death.
“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,” stated the message issued to People.
“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.”
Before the family statement was issued, a close friend mentioned to the publication: “She declined very suddenly, which was heartbreaking for everyone who loved her. It was so unexpected, especially for someone with such strength and spirit.”
Oscar-winning songwriter Carole Bayer Sager shared in an emotional interview that she was taken aback by Keaton’s appearance a few weeks prior to her death.
“I saw her two or three weeks ago, and she was very thin,” Sager stated. “She had lost so much weight.”
The Grammy winner, who collaborated with Keaton on her only single ‘First Christmas’ in 2024, mentioned seeing her less often this year as Keaton had moved to Palm Springs after the severe wildfires damaged her California home.
“She had to go to Palm Springs because her house had been damaged inside, and they had to clean everything,” Sager noted. “She was down there for a while, and when she came back, I was kind of stunned by how much weight she’d lost.”
Hollywood has seen an outpouring of tributes, with Robert De Niro – a frequent collaborator with Keaton – expressing: “I am very sad to hear of Diane’s passing. I was very fond of her, and the news of her leaving us has taken me totally by surprise. I was not expecting her to leave us. She will be missed. May she rest in peace.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed her nephew in Marvin’s Room, also shared on Instagram how she was ‘one of a kind. Brilliant, funny and unapologetically herself’.
He added: “She will be deeply missed.”
This devastating news follows Keaton’s 2015 revelation to the Los Angeles Times about her family’s history with cancer, particularly skin cancer, and her acknowledgment of disregarding the risks in her early 20s.
During this period, Keaton battled basal cell carcinoma and later developed squamous cell cancer, which required two surgeries for removal.
The star had also disclosed her struggle with bulimia, an eating disorder marked by consuming excessive quantities of food followed by self-induced vomiting, for which she sought treatment.