Diane Keaton may have captivated some of Hollywood’s greatest leading men – but those closest to her tell RadarOnline.com the actress never stopped loving Woody Allen, the eccentric filmmaker she once described as an invincible “cockroach.”
Keaton, who died at her home in California on Saturday, 11 October, aged 79, shared a decades-long connection with Allen that began when the pair starred together in his 1972 Broadway play Play It Again, Sam.
Her Enduring Affection For Woody Allen
Keaton’s brief romance with Allen became one of the most defining of her life.
Though their romance was brief, it became one of the most defining relationships of her life. Friends say her affection for Allen endured through the controversies that later surrounded him – and even as she went on to charm screen legends Al Pacino and Warren Beatty.
“Diane always had this deep, strange affection for Woody that never went away,” claimed a source close to the actress. “Even when she was seeing Al or Warren, there was this sense that Woody had her heart. She called him her ‘cockroach,’ which was her way of saying he was indestructible – impossible to get rid of.”
The actress’ devotion to Allen, now 89, was well documented in her 2012 memoir Then Again, in which she wrote, “I miss Woody. He’d cringe if he knew how much I care about him, but I’m smart enough not to broach the subject. He’s borderline repulsed by the grotesque nature of my affection.”
A Lifelong Connection On and Off Screen
Pacino reportedly called Keaton the love of his life and regretted not marrying her.
In interviews, she often defended him, even after he was accused by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, of sexual assault – allegations Allen has always denied. In 2018, Keaton said, “Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him.”
Their connection spanned eight films, including Sleeper, Love and Death, and Annie Hall, the 1977 classic that earned Keaton her only Oscar and immortalized her quirky, androgynous style.
“She credited Woody for bringing out her best self on screen,” said the source. “That film was their love story in disguise.”
Romances with Hollywood’s Leading Men
She later fell for Pacino and Beatty but never stopped caring for Allen.
Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946, Keaton grew up in a modest home before heading to New York to study acting. After her Broadway debut in Hair, she met Allen – and soon after, Pacino – while filming The Godfather in 1971.
She later said she was “mad” for Pacino, calling him “charming, hilarious, and gorgeous.” Their on-and-off romance lasted years, ending in 1990 after he refused to marry. “There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan,” she once said. “And, oh, gorgeous.”
Beatty followed, with the pair briefly dating during the making of Reds in 1981, but friends said Keaton “never gave her heart away fully” after Allen.
“Woody was the one constant,” another source claimed. “No matter how successful she became, she’d always light up when someone mentioned his name.”
Family, Fortune, and Final Reflections
Friends said her affection for Allen endured despite later controversies.
Despite her offbeat charm, Keaton faced personal struggles, including lifelong battles with bulimia and skin cancer.
She adopted daughter Dexter, now 29, and son Duke, 25, in her 50s and built a $100million fortune through acting and property investments.
“Having children is so much more important than everything else I have done,” she once said.
In later years, Keaton and Allen reportedly stayed in touch by phone.
“They spoke occasionally,” said one friend. “She’d tease him about his clothes; he’d tell her she was still impossible.”
Pacino, 85, who lived near Keaton in Beverly Hills, has reportedly told friends he “regrets” never marrying Keaton.
“Looking back, Al admits the love of his life was Diane,” an insider close to him said. “He always called her ‘an amazing woman’ and used to say, ‘If it’s meant to be, it’s never too late for a do-over.’ But now it is.”
