Diane Keaton’s cause of death revealed as family issue thanks for support

The actress, known for The Godfather, Annie Hall and Father Of The Bride died on October 11 at the age of 79.

A family statement to US media said: “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.

“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.”

According to the NHS, pneumonia is an “inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by an infection” and can cause people to get seriously ill especially if you are over the age of 65, along with those who have a heart or lung condition.

Keaton had a long career as a film actress, making her debut in 1970 with Lovers And Other Strangers.

She made her big break in 1972 after playing Kay, the girlfriend and then wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather – a role which she reprised in 1974’s The Godfather Part II and 1990’s The Godfather Part III.

The actress went on to appear in The Family Stone, The Book Club movies and more recently in Summer Camp and Arthur’s Whisky in 2024.

Filmmaker Nancy Meyers, who Keaton worked with on a number of films including Baby Boom (1988), Father Of The Bride (1992) and Something’s Gotta Give (2004), paid tribute to the star in a post on Instagram which said: “As a movie lover, I’m with you all – we have lost a giant. A brilliant actress who time and again laid herself bare to tell our stories.

“As a woman, I lost a friend of almost 40 years – at times over those years, she felt like a sister because we shared so many truly memorable experiences.

“As a filmmaker, I’ve lost a connection with an actress that one can only dream of.

“She was fearless, she was like nobody ever, she was born to be a movie star, her laugh could make your day and for me, knowing her and working with her – changed my life. Thank you Di. I’ll miss you forever.”

Following the news of her death, Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler, who starred alongside Keaton in 1996’s The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women, paid tribute to their co-star.

In a post on Instagram, Hawn said she left “memories beyond imagination”.

“You’ve left us with a trail of fairy dust, filled with particles of light and memories beyond imagination,” she said.

“You stole the hearts of the world and shared your genius with millions, making films that made us laugh and cry in ways only you could.”

While Midler wrote: “She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star.”

Coppola also paid tribute on Instagram and said: “Words can’t express the wonder and talent of Diane Keaton. Endlessly intelligent, so beautiful.

“From her earliest performances in Hair and throughout her amazing career, she was an extraordinary actor.”

The Book Club’s Jane Fonda, who starred alongside Keaton, said she was “a spark of life and light” on Instagram, while Ben Stiller called her “one of the greatest film actors ever” in a post on X.

Keaton was nominated for Oscars for her roles in Something’s Gotta Give, Marvin’s Room and Reds, in which she starred opposite Warren Beatty.

For a large part of her career she collaborated with Woody Allen, her one-time boyfriend, including on Annie Hall for which she won the Oscar for best actress and has since become associated with the title character’s menswear-centric wardrobe.

In 1996, Keaton adopted a daughter, Dexter, and a son, Duke, four years later, however, never married.

A family spokesperson told People that Keaton’s loved ones have asked for privacy following her death in California.