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Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall, The Godfather films, and Father of the Bridewhose quirky, vibrant manner and depth made her one of the most singular actors of a generation, has died. She was 79.

People Magazine reported Saturday (October 11) that she died in California with loved ones, citing a family spokesperson. No other details were immediately available.

The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.

“She 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!” Bette Midler said in a post on Instagram. She and Keaton co-starred in The First Wives Club.

Making films timeless

Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in that necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.

Her star-making performances in the 1970s, many of which were in Woody Allen films, were not a flash in the pan either, and she would continue to charm new generations for decades, thanks in part to a longstanding collaboration with filmmaker Nancy Meyers.

Keaton won an Oscar for Annie Hall and would go on to be nominated three more times, for Redsplaying the journalist and suffragist Louise Bryant, Marvin’s Roomas a caregiver who suddenly needs care herself, and Something’s Gotta Giveas a middle-aged divorcee who is the object of several men’s affections.

Also read: Robert Redford obit: How the ‘sex symbol of the Seventies’ changed Hollywood

Early life

Keaton was born Diane Hall in January 1946 in Los Angeles. Though her family was not part of the film industry, she would find herself in it. Her mother was a homemaker and photographer, and her father was in real estate and civil engineering, and both would inspire her love in the arts, from fashion to architecture.

Keaton was drawn to theatre and singing while in school in Santa Ana, California, and she dropped out of college after a year to make a go of it in Manhattan. Actors’ Equity already had a Diane Hall in their ranks, and she took Keaton, her mother’s maiden name, as her own.

Keaton made her film debut in the 1970 romantic comedy Lovers and Other Strangersbut her big breakthrough would come a few years later when she was cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfatherwhich won best picture and became one of the most beloved films of all time.

A fruitful life

The 1970s were an incredibly fruitful time for Keaton, thanks in part to her ongoing collaboration with Allen in both comedic and dramatic roles. She appeared in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattanand the film version of Play it Again, Sam. The 1977 crime-drama Looking for Mr. Goodbar also earned her raves.

She also directed occasionally, with works including an episode of Twin Peaksa Belinda Carlisle music video and the sister dramedy Hanging Upwhich Noran Epron and Delia Ephron co-wrote, and she starred in alongside Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow.

Also read: How Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather became a landmark saga in gangster genre

Keaton continued working steadily throughout the 2000s, with notable roles in The Family Stoneas a dying matriarch reluctant to give her ring to her son, in Morning Gloryas a morning news anchor, and the Book Club films.

She wrote several books as well, including memoirs Then Again and Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Prettyand an art and design book, The House that Pinterest Built.

(With agency inputs)