Diane Keaton's Real Name: Diane Hall

Diane Keaton → Diane Hall

Quick answer: Diane Keaton was born Diane Hall on January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, California. She took her mother's maiden name, Keaton, as her professional surname. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Annie Hall (1977), starred in The Godfather films and Father of the Bride, and died in California on October 11, 2025, at 79, the Associated Press reported (NYT).

Real name and early life

Keaton's legal birth name was Diane Hall. After joining the Actors' Equity Association, where another member was already registered as Diane Hall, she adopted Keaton, her mother Dorothy Keaton Hall's maiden name. She grew up in Southern California, studied drama at Santa Ana College and Orange Coast College, then moved to New York to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse.

Her best-known character, Annie Hall, shared her real surname: the title came from Keaton's birth name, and her nickname "Annie" was also used by friends.

Career highlights

Keaton first gained attention on Broadway in the original cast of Hair and then in Woody Allen's play Play It Again, Sam, which she repeated on film. She played Kay Adams, wife of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather (1972) and its sequels.

Annie Hall (1977) won her the Oscar for Best Actress and made her loose, menswear-inspired wardrobe a fashion touchstone. She earned further Oscar nominations for Reds (1981), Marvin's Room (1996) and Something's Gotta Give (2003). Popular films included Baby Boom, Father of the Bride and its sequel, The First Wives Club and the Book Club films. She also directed, wrote several memoirs including Then Again, and received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 2017.

Death

A family member told AP that Keaton died in California surrounded by loved ones. Her death certificate listed primary bacterial pneumonia as the cause, with no underlying causes and no autopsy, and said she died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, The New York Times reported. Her family also said she died of pneumonia.

More to know

Keaton never married. She adopted two children, Dexter and Duke, and lived for many years in Los Angeles, where she became known for restoring and selling architecturally significant homes. Tributes after her death came from co-stars including Steve Martin and Bette Midler, AP reported.