Bette Midler Honors “Extraordinary” Costar Diane Keaton After Death

Diane Keaton Dead at 79: Bette Midler, Kimberly Williams Paisley and More React

For Bette Midler, Diane Keaton will always be a friend first.

In the wake of Keaton’s death at age 79, the First Wives Club actress shared an heartfelt tribute to her late costar

“The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died,” Midler wrote on Instagram Oct. 11. “I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star.”

The 79-year-old added, “What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”

Midler and Keaton famously teamed up onscreen alongside Goldie Hawn in 1996’s First Wives Club, which centered around the bond between three divorcées. When the trio were honored with a Women in Film Crystal Award for their performance, Midler referred to Keaton as her “dear friend.”

“In my heart of hearts, I suspect this award is not for our work in the First Wives Club because it is so brilliant”, she said while accepting the award, “but rather because everybody was so overjoyed that three actresses of a certain age still have what it takes to deliver a 100-million-dollar-picture just like the testosterone tyrants.”

“It’s in the abyss where all good scripts go to die,” Midler quipped to People. “Fifteen years is the time limit, I think. When it’s been in development for 15 years, you kind of throw up your hands.”

Keaton passed away in California, her rep confirmed to the outlet on Oct. 11.

“There are no further details available at this time,” the spokesperson shared, “and her family has asked for privacy in this moment of great sadness.”

For a look back at Keaton’s life in photos, read on.