Oscar-winning Actress Diane Keaton Dead at 79

Screen legend Diane Keaton was beloved for her role as Annie Hall in Woody Allen's film of the same name. Patrick T. FALLON / AFP/File
Screen legend Diane Keaton was beloved for her role as Annie Hall in Woody Allen's film of the same name. Patrick T. FALLON / AFP/File
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Oscar-winning Actress Diane Keaton Dead at 79

Screen legend Diane Keaton was beloved for her role as Annie Hall in Woody Allen's film of the same name. Patrick T. FALLON / AFP/File
Screen legend Diane Keaton was beloved for her role as Annie Hall in Woody Allen's film of the same name. Patrick T. FALLON / AFP/File

Actress Diane Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977's "Annie Hall" and her role in "The Godfather" films, has died at age 79.

Details were not immediately available and Keaton's loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People, which said the actress died Saturday in California.

Keaton was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in "Annie Hall," the charming girlfriend of Allen's comic Alvy Singer, AFP reported.

The film also garnered Oscars for best picture, best director and best original screenplay, cementing Keaton's place as one of the industry's top actresses and an offbeat style icon as well.

The actress made her mark co-starring in eight Allen movies, from "Play It Again, Sam" (1972) to "Manhattan" (1979) and "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993).

In "The Godfather" films, she played Kay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone.

Apart from the Allen cannon, fans adored her portrayal as Steve Martin's wife in 1991 comedy "Father of the Bride," as the nervous and doting couple plan an extravagant wedding for their daughter.

Late in her career, Keaton starred in two movies about aging women: "Book Club" (2018), with its message that love has no age, and "Poms" (2019), the story of a terminally ill woman who moves to a retirement community to die, but winds up forming a cheerleading squad.

A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, Keaton scored Oscar nominations three other times for best actress, for "Reds,Marvin's Room" and "Something's Gotta Give."

'Iconoclastic'

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, home of the Oscars, said in a tribute to Keaton: "Some actors play emotions. Diane Keaton lived inside them."

In 2017, she was honored with a Life Achievement Award by the American Film Institute, which called Keaton "unconventional, iconoclastic and left-of-center."

"I feel so lucky to have spent any time with this marvelous woman, and I'm heartbroken that she is gone," said actress Andie MacDowell, who starred in "Unstrung Hero" (1995), one of a handful of films Keaton directed.

Actress Bette Midler, who starred alongside Keaton in the 1996 comedy "The First Wives Club," wrote on Instagram that Keaton "was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was...oh, la, lala!"

Goldie Hawn, who was also in "The First Wives Club," said Keaton "left us with a trail of fairy dust, filled with particles of light and memories beyond imagination."

Infectious

As the Hollywood sexual harassment scandals detonated in late 2017, cascading from producer Harvey Weinstein to heavyweight actors like Kevin Spacey, old accusations of child sex abuse against Allen by his adoptive daughter Dylan resurfaced.

"Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him," Keaton tweeted in January 2018.

It was a rare encounter with controversy for the beloved actress.

Keaton said she had no "Me Too" complaints despite half a century in the film industry.

"Never. Maybe I just wasn't harassment material," she told AFP in a 2019 interview.

Keaton's infectious, sunny smile lit up the screen across the decades, and she made popular a quirky and liberating fashion sense first seen in "Annie Hall" that featured oversize hats and the lighthearted use of menswear items.

As for aging, Keaton said in the 2019 interview that life actually got easier.

"I think so, because what have you got to lose? It's like it's the truth. That's what it is. You face it, we talk about it," she said.

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, Keaton was romantically involved with Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty, but never married.

"Most people in the movies get married at some point and then they divorce. But I've never even got married. I am (a) failure," she joked.

Did she regret it? "I don't think about it a lot but I'm aware of the fact that I'm unusual in that regard, and maybe I did miss out on something -- but then, nobody can have everything, right?"

She is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke.



In Partial Victory, Blake Lively Wins Legal Fees from Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File
Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File
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In Partial Victory, Blake Lively Wins Legal Fees from Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File
Blake Lively has been in a lengthy legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP/File

US actor Justin Baldoni must pay legal fees but not damages to "It Ends with Us" co-star Blake Lively, a New York judge ruled Friday, settling a years-long legal battle.

The decision marks a partial victory for Lively, who was fighting a defamation suit brought by Baldoni and his production company, which Lively claimed was retaliation for sexual harassment allegations she made, said AFP.

The pair settled their dispute in May, avoiding a costly civil trial, though no settlement figure was disclosed.

Lively's initial complaint said Baldoni -- who also directed "It Ends With Us" -- had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script.

It further said that Baldoni waged a PR campaign to wreck Lively's reputation.

Baldoni and the studio Wayfarer in turn countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with claims of extortion and defamation.

Federal judge Lewis Liman, who issued Friday's judgment, dismissed Baldoni's claims in June 2025 and struck down parts of Lively's complaints this April.

Based on a best-selling novel by US writer Colleen Hoover, "It Ends with Us" made more than $350 million at the box office in 2024, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.


An Astronaut, Movie Stars and a Knight: US Brings Glitz for World Cup Opener

Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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An Astronaut, Movie Stars and a Knight: US Brings Glitz for World Cup Opener

Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

The World Cup arrived in the United States on Friday in a blizzard of celebrity and glamour, with Los Angeles pulling out all the stops for the opening game between Team USA and Paraguay.

The stands at SoFi stadium were a who's who of famous folk in the world's entertainment capital, with movie legends like Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and "Star Wars" director George Lucas joined by the likes of socialite Paris Hilton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Other Hollywood names included Oscar winner Halle Berry, actor and director Owen Wilson and "West Wing" alum Rob Lowe.

Singer -- and one-time astronaut -- Katy Perry, who performed in the opening ceremony, repaired to the seats to watch the action on the pitch while she cuddled up to former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The pair have recently gone "Insta-official" with their relationship.

British footballing giant David Beckham was also in the stands -- sitting next to Cruise -- hours after he had been feted with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The honor was the latest in a long line for the former England captain, who was knighted by Britain's King Charles last year to become Sir David Beckham.

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also cheering for the USA, who romped to a 4-1 victory over a hapless-looking Paraguay, giving the host nation its highest-scoring World Cup result.

Before the game began, a packed SoFi Stadium was bid a booming "Welcome to the USA" in a glitzy ceremony that kicked off more than five weeks of football in the US, which is sharing the tournament with Mexico and Canada.

The stadium's giant "jumbotron" screen flashed a close-up of the city's famous Hollywood sign, before a marching band struck up and were joined by singers including Future, Tyla, Anitta and K-pop star Lisa.

Costumes and props were designed to evoke Los Angeles street art, and the city's creative industries.

Suspended from the roof of the space-age venue were enormous "FIFA" letters in the gold favored by US President Donald Trump -- who did not attend.

He instead spoke to the team via phone beforehand, telling them "I think you've a really good chance of going all the way. I just want to wish you a lot of luck."

Fellow co-hosts Mexico and Canada have already played their first matches, each featuring a separate opening ceremony on home soil.

Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0, while Canada came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw and their first ever World Cup finals point, against Bosnia-Herzegovina.


Ariana Grande to White House: Don't Use My Music for 'Heinous Nonsense'

US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
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Ariana Grande to White House: Don't Use My Music for 'Heinous Nonsense'

US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (R) and US music video director Christian Breslauer accept the award for Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead" on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

American pop star Ariana Grande told President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday to stop using her music to promote its policies.

The comment came after the White House shared a video on TikTok earlier this week highlighting its immigration policy. The video, which depicts federal agents arresting and handcuffing people, features the Grammy Award-winning singer's 2024 song "Bye."

"Please ‌do not ‌ever use my music in ‌relation ⁠to this barbaric, inhumane, ⁠heinous nonsense," Grande wrote in a comment posted on the White House video on TikTok on Thursday.

A source close to the singer said her team is looking into how to remove the music from the video ⁠as soon as possible. Responding to Grande, ‌White House spokesperson ‌Abigail Jackson said: "We’ll say this one last time: what’s ‌actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal ‌illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens."

Grande, a singer and Academy Award-nominated actress, was critical of the Trump administration last year after ‌sharing a post on Instagram asking people who voted for Trump if ⁠their lives ⁠had gotten better since he returned to office.

Trump, now in his second non-consecutive term, has an active social media presence. Members of his communications team often post short videos that feature popular songs to illustrate the president's efforts to deliver on his campaign promises. Some of the videos have featured hit songs while depicting images showing Trump's immigration crackdown, US military operations against Iran and the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.