Goldie Hawn, Steve Martin and Ben Stiller have led tributes to Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton, who has died at the age of 79.
Keaton, who was born in Los Angeles, shot to fame in the 1970s through her role as Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather films.
She was also known for starring roles in films including Father of the Bride, First Wives Club and Annie Hall, which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1978.
Fellow First Wives Club co-star Goldie Hawn said Keaton left “a trail of fairy dust, filled with particles of light and memories beyond imagination”.
Writing on Instagram, Hawn said: “How do we say goodbye? What words can come to mind when your heart is broken? You never liked praise, so humble, but now you can’t tell me to ‘shut up’ honey. There was, and will be, no one like you.”
Keaton died in California on Saturday, a family spokesperson told People magazine, which first reported the news.
Producer and friend of Keaton, Dori Rath, confirmed the actress’s death to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News.
Paying tribute, her other First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. 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!”
Steve Martin, who starred with Keaton in Father of the Bride alongside Martin Short, reposted part of a magazine article where Short asks: “Who’s sexier, me or Steve Martin?”
Keaton replies: “I mean, you’re both idiots.”
Martin said: “Don’t know who first posted this, but it sums up our delightful relationship with Diane.”
Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”
Director Paul Feig said on X he had been “honoured” to call Keaton a friend, adding: “She was an amazingly kind and creative person who also just happened to be a Hollywood legend”, adding that she had “been taken far too soon”.
And The Book Club co-star Jane Fonda said on Instagram that Fonda was a “spark of life and light”
