Family of Academy Award-Winning Actress Diane Keaton Reveal Cause of Death

Her family confirmed she died of pneumonia at the age of 79 on Oct. 11, surrounded by loved ones in California.

American Film Institute's 45th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to Diane Keaton at Dolby Theatre on June 8, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Charley Gallay/Getty Images

New details have emerged in the death of Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton at the age of 79.

In a statement to People magazine, Keaton’s family confirmed she died of pneumonia on Oct. 11 in California, adding her health had declined “very suddenly.”

“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,” her family told the outlet on Oct. 15.

“She loved her animals and she was steadfast in her support of the unhoused community,” the statement continued. “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.”

Beyond acting, Keaton was a dedicated advocate for animal welfare, historic preservation, and supporting the homeless.

She served on the Board of Directors for the Helen Woodward Animal Center for over 20 years, helping animals and those who care for them.

“She was a genuine person that really loved pets,” the center’s  CEO, Mike Arms, said in a statement. “That spirit of honesty and compassion is exactly how Diane lived her life, and we are so grateful for the years she spent with our Center family.”

Keaton also sat on the board of the Los Angeles Conservancy and as a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“I’ll never understand why architecture is considered a second cousin to painting and film,” Keaton wrote on the matter in a Los Angeles Times op-ed back in 2008.

“We watch movies in buildings. We look at paintings on their walls. We pray in cathedrals. We live inside places we call homes. Home gives us faith in the belief of a well-lived life. When we tear down a building, we are wiping out lessons for the future.”

Keaton is survived by her two adopted children, daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, whom she welcomed in her 50s.

Timeless Career

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946, Keaton developed an early love for theater and singing while in school in Santa Ana, California.

After attending college for one year, she dropped out to pursue her dreams in New York, where she studied under famed acting instructor Sanford Meisner.

Her first stage appearance was as an understudy to the lead in the Broadway production “Hair,” followed by a role in Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam” in 1968, for which she would later receive a Tony nomination.

Keaton rose to fame in the 1970s, landing more than 70 roles throughout film and television combined over the course of her career.

She made her film debut in the romantic comedy “Lovers and Other Strangers,” followed by her breakthrough role in 1972 in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather.”

She went on to reprise her role in the film’s sequels, “The Godfather Part II” and “The Godfather Part III.”

Keaton continued her collaborations with Allen, appearing in “Sleeper,” “Love and Death,” “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” and the film adaptation of “Play It Again, Sam.”

With 63 total nominations and 37 wins across multiple award shows, Keaton won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Annie Hall” and a Golden Globe for “Something’s Gotta Give.”

Keaton was also a passionate photographer, director, writer, and producer, but said she truly found love and purpose in her life when she became a mother.

“It’s given my life a real purpose that it never had before,” she told CBS News in a 2004 interview.

“I was very heavily involved in myself forever. And this changes the whole landscape of your life. Your whole point of view in a good way, in a nice way. ... I just think they are both miracles.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.