Diane Keaton is an actress, director, producer, and screenwriter from the USA, who has a net worth of $50 million. Diane Keaton was born in Los Angeles, California (USA) on January 5th, 1946. She is the oldest of four siblings. Her father Jack Hall (1921-1990) was a civil engineer, and her mother Dorothy Keaton (1921-2008) was an amateur photographer, and housewife.
Her father came from an American-Irish Catholic background, and her mother from a Methodist family. Her first ambition to become an actress came after seeing her mother triumph in the “Mrs. Los Angeles” contest for housewives.
Studies.
Diane Keaton graduated in 1964 from Santa Ana High School in Santa Ana, California. There she participated in singing and acting clubs and performed the role of Blanche Dubois in a school production of A Streetcar Named Desire. After graduation, she attended Santa Ana College and Orange Coast College to study drama, but she retired after a year to pursue a career in show business in Manhattan.
Career.
After being nominated for a Tony Award for Play It Again, Sam, Keaton made her film debut with Lovers and Other Strangers (1970). She continued as a guest in the roles of the TV series Love, American Style, and, Night Gallery. She also appeared in several ads for deodorant.
The role that put her being recognized came in 1971, when she was chosen to play Kay Adams, Michael Corleone’s girlfriend (played by Al Pacino), in the great success of 1972 The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola said he discovered Keaton in Lovers and Other Strangers, and hired her because of her reputation as eccentric, a feature he wanted to bring to the role. For her performance, she drew inspiration from her experience in making the film, as both consisted of being “The woman in a man’s world.”
Annie Hall.
In 1977, Keaton starred with Woody Allen in the romantic comedy Annie Hall, in which she played one of her most famous roles. Annie Hall was written and directed by Allen, and the film was an “autobiography” of her past relationship with Diane Keaton. Allen based the character of Annie Hall freely on Keaton (“Hall” is her original surname).
Many of Keaton’s mannerisms, and her sense of humor in which she makes fun of herself were added to the role by Allen. This film, meant winning the Oscar for best actress in a leading role. Keaton has stated that she is: “made for comedy.”
2000s
Keaton’s first film in the 2000s was Hanging Up with Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow. Keaton also directed the film, despite she said she would never direct herself in a film. The film was a drama about 3 sisters facing the senility and eventual death of their old father. It was not well received by critics, and only raised a modest $ 36 million in North America.
Something’s Gotta Give, directed by Nancy Meyers and co-star Jack Nicholson. The choice of Nicholson and Keaton, 66 and 57, respectively, was considered daring to star in a romantic comedy. Keaton received her second gold globe in the comic-musical category, and her fourth Academy Award nomination for her role in the film.
