Diane Keaton’s friends say they feared the beloved Oscar-winning actress was battling a secret illness in the weeks before her death – after noticing her dramatic weight loss and growing frailty.
As RadarOnline.com reported, the 79-year-old star of Annie Hall and The Godfather died in California on October 11.
A Private Struggle Hidden Behind Her Famous Smile
Friends said Keaton may have died from recurring skin cancer.
Sources close to the actress now tell us Keaton’s death may have been caused by complications linked to a recurrence of skin cancer, the same disease she had battled twice before.
Those close to her said the decline was “sudden and shocking,” with some friends admitting they had begun to worry her cancer had returned when her weight dropped dramatically over the summer.
“Everyone noticed she’d lost a lot of weight very quickly,” a longtime friend claimed. “She looked fragile, which was unusual for someone with so much spirit. We were all scared it might be her cancer again, but she didn’t want anyone fussing over her.”
The friend added Keaton kept “everything” private and was determined to face her illness on her own terms.
Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, who visited Keaton a few weeks before her death, said she was “stunned” by the actress’ physical change in her final days.
She said: “I saw her two or three weeks ago, and she was very thin. She had lost so much weight.”
The two women, who collaborated on Keaton’s single First Christmas in 2024, had been close for decades.
Health Decline After Wildfire Displacement
Singer Carole Bayer Sager was stunned by Keaton’s frail appearance.
Sager added Keaton remained upbeat during their final meeting.
“She was a magic light for everyone,” she said. “I just loved her. She was so special, she just lit up a room with her energy. She was happy and upbeat and taking photographs of everything she saw. She was completely creative; she never stopped creating.”
Friends said Keaton’s health appeared to decline after she relocated temporarily to Palm Springs earlier this year when her Brentwood home was damaged during California’s wildfires.
“She had to go to Palm Springs because her house had been damaged inside, and they had to clean everything,” Sager said. “When she came back, I was kind of stunned by how much weight she’d lost.”
A film industry source close to Keaton said her final months were “quiet but content.”
The friend said: “She was funny right up until the end. She lived exactly how she wanted to – on her own terms, surrounded by the people and things she really loved. In these last few years, she kept a close circle, and she liked it that way.”
A Life of Resilience and Creative Passion
Keaton stayed upbeat and creative until the end.
Keaton, known for her eccentric style and trademark hats, had faced several health challenges throughout her life.
She was first diagnosed with basal-cell carcinoma at 21 and later underwent multiple surgeries for squamous cell carcinoma in 2011.
The Hollywood veteran also spoke openly about her past struggle with bulimia, describing it in 2014 as the “lowest point” in her life.
Despite her illnesses, friends said Keaton never lost her zest for creativity.
“She so loved recording First Christmas,” Sager recalled. “She was almost childlike about it. She sang it so authentically – she was acting it, really – and then she’d start to cry when she sang it. It was beautiful.”
Hollywood Pays Tribute to a True Original
She spent her final months quietly with loved ones.
Keaton’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from Hollywood.
Bette Midler, who co-starred with her in The First Wives Club, described her as “a complete original.”
Robert De Niro, who appeared with her in The Godfather Part II, said: “I was very fond of her, and the news of her leaving us has taken me totally by surprise. She will be missed.”
Keaton is survived by her daughter, Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25.
