What Diane Keaton Has Said About Never Getting Married
“Wife” was a role Diane Keaton never wanted.
Prior to the Oscar winner’s death at age 79, she had several high-profile romances with fellow costars including Warren Beatty, Al Pacino and her Annie Hall costar Woody Allen, but she often spoke about why she preferred living single, and ultimately never married.
“I think that I’m strange,” Diane—who welcomed kids Dexter, 29, and Duke, 25, through adoption—admitted to People in a 2019 interview. “I think I’m the only one in my generation and maybe before who has been a single woman all her life.”
However, the Because I Said So actress admitted she felt she was missing a “nurturing” quality that was expected of married women.
“I think that I needed more of a maternal aspect,” she considered. “I don’t think it would have been a good idea for me to have married, and I’m really glad I didn’t, and I’m sure they’re happy about it, too.”
As she put it, “I’m an oddball.”
And though Diane had no problem pursuing some flings in her life, she never felt pulled to be a wife.
“I remember one day in high school, this guy came up to me and said, ‘One day you’re going to make a good wife,’” she recalled. “And I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a wife. No.’”
Looking back at her dating record, though, Diane also was less than impressed—especially when it came to pursuing her costars.
“When I was young, I was looking to be loved by these extraordinary people,” she continued. “I think I should not have been so seduced by talent. When you’re both doing the same job, it’s not so great. I should have found just a nice human being, kind of a family guy.”
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Ultimately, the Something’s Gotta Give actress found a life companion in her golden retriever Reggie.
“I just love her,” she gushed to AARP in 2023. “Dogs are irresistible. They’re just idiots. Reggie is a big jerk, and she’s a great jerk, and she’s hilarious.”
With the affection she received from her pet, the Book Club actress was over even the dating scene in her final years.
“I don’t date,” she added to the magazine. “Highly unlikely. I don’t remember anyone calling me, going, ‘This is So-and-So. I’d like to take you out.’ They don’t happen. Of course not.”
Despite never marrying, there were plenty of stars who held Diane very dear. Keep reading for every tribute to the legendary actress…
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Nia Vardalos
“Grace. Style. Talent,” the My Big Fat Greek Wedding star wrote on Instagram. “Above all, a comedy gal who set the bar high for all of us who came after. Rest in peace sweet and funny Diane Keaton.”
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Bette Midler
The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died,” Bette wrote in her Instagram tribute. “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. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!
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Kimberly Williams-Paisley
“Diane, working with you will always be one of the highlights of my life,” the Father of the Bride star wrote on Instagram. “You are one of a kind, and it was thrilling to be in your orbit for a time. Thank you for your kindness, your generosity, your talent, and above all, your laughter.”
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Viola Davis
No!! No!!! No!! God, not yet, NO!!! Man… you defined womanhood,” she noted on Instagram. “The pathos, humor, levity, your ever-present youthfulness and vulnerability — you tattooed your SOUL into every role, making it impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting them. You were undeniably, unapologetically YOU!!! Loved you. Man… rest well. God bless your family, and I know angels are flying you home.
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Luke Evans
“What a very sad day. Rest in peace #dianekeaton,” he wrote on Instagram “Such a brilliant actor, a kind heart and full of graciousness with a shining independent spirit.”
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Josh Gad
“What a monumental loss,” he wrote on Instagram. “Diane Keaton in many ways defined my love of movies. From Annie Hall to the Godfather films, from First Wives Club to Baby Boom, from Father of the Bride to Something’s Gotta Give, here resume was nothing short of iconic and hall of fame worthy.”
“I was very fortunate to work with her many years ago on an unproduced HBO pilot,” Josh continued, “and what I found was one of the most humble, ruthlessly funny, and unbelievably talented human beings I’ve ever come across.”
He added, “In many ways, this year will be defined by the loss of a Hollywood we will never again see. There simply are no replacements for a Gene Hackman or a Robert Redford or a Diane Keaton. They were the mavericks who helped redefine movies for a generation and losing them feels like also losing a chance inactive tissue to that golden age just out of reach. My heart goes out to Diane’s entire family during this impossible moment. RIP”
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Zac Posen
“Diane Keaton is gone,” the designer wrote on Instagram, “and though I only knew her through the light she gave on screen, I’ll miss that light deeply.”
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