Remembering Diane Keaton — Oscar Winner, Style Icon, and Longtime Upper West Side Resident

Four days after the world learned of Diane Keaton’s passing, New Yorkers — especially those on the Upper West Side — continue to reflect on the life of an actress whose work and personality were deeply intertwined with the city itself.

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Keaton, who died on October 11 at the age of 79, appeared in nearly 100 films and television roles over a career spanning more than five decades. From Annie Hall to The First Wives Club, she embodied a blend of humor, honesty, and self-deprecation that made her one of the most distinctive performers of her generation.

For many New Yorkers, Keaton’s image is inseparable from the city. Her Oscar-winning turn in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977) defined not only a certain kind of romantic comedy but also a certain kind of woman — neurotic, independent, witty, and unmistakably urban.

Not long after Annie Hall made her a household name, Keaton bought a full-floor co-op in the San Remo, the twin-towered landmark at 145-146 Central Park West (between 74th and 75th streets). It was her first New York home, a glamorous perch among the city’s creative elite. (Mary Tyler Moore was living in the other tower at the time, and rumor has it Warren Beatty was dating both women at the time). Keaton sold the apartment decades later, listing it in 2018 for $17.5 million.

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946, she moved to New York at 19 to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She made her Broadway debut in Hair before appearing in Play It Again, Sam, where her chemistry with Woody Allen sparked both a professional collaboration and a real-life romance. Her first major film role came soon after, as Kay Adams in The Godfather (1972).

Her portrayal of Annie Hall — and the slouchy jackets, vests, and ties that came with it — became a cultural phenomenon. The “Annie Hall look” influenced fashion for years, while her character’s blend of awkwardness and confidence helped reshape how women were written on screen.

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Keaton went on to earn three more Oscar nominations for Reds (1981), Marvin’s Room (1996), and Something’s Gotta Give (2003), balancing comedy and drama with rare ease. She also directed several projects, including Unstrung Heroes (1995) and Hanging Up (2000).

Beyond acting, Keaton cultivated a deep interest in architecture and design — passions that she later chronicled in books like House and California Romantica. She often credited her early years in New York, and her San Remo apartment in particular, with igniting her fascination with historic buildings.

She never married but adopted two children, Dexter and Duke. Her relationships with Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, and Woody Allen often drew tabloid attention, though she typically deflected it with her characteristic humor and humility.

In her 2014 memoir Then Again, Keaton wrote with unflinching self-awareness about aging, family, and love. “I learned I couldn’t shed light on love other than to feel its comings and goings and be grateful,” she reflected.

For Upper West Siders, Keaton remains part of the neighborhood’s lore — a movie star who once gazed out over Central Park from the San Remo and helped define what New York sophistication could look like on screen. Her voice, her style, and her singular New York sensibility endure.

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