Everything Diane Keaton shared about her health before death aged 79
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Rodin Eckenroth
With film fans mourning Diane Keaton's tragic death, many have been reminded of how open the actress was about the health issues she struggled with during her lifetime.
Keaton died on October 11, and her passing has seen an outpouring of tributes and grief for the Oscar-winner.
The actor had a career spanning decades and got her big break on the big screen playing Kay Adams, the girlfriend and then wife of Michael Corleone, in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather.
She would go on to win an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in 1977's Annie Hall, and was nominated for the award on a further three occasions in 1982, 1997, and 2004.
Advert
Keaton did not share much about her health in the months leading up to her death, and the cause of her death has not been made public.
This is what the iconic celebrity did say about her health.
Back in 2015 Keaton revealed to the Los Angeles Times that she had a family history of cancer, in particular skin cancer.
She said: “It’s a family history. I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose.
"My father had basal skin cancer and my brother had it. It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on.”
Despite this, she revealed that she would not look after her skin when she was younger.
“Back in my 20s I didn’t pay attention much,” she said. “I didn’t research and didn’t really care and that was stupid because it’s dogged me my entire adult life, even recently. I didn’t start sun care until my 40s.”
In her 20s, Keaton had to struggle with basal cell carcinoma, and would later go on to develop squamous cell cancer decades afterwards which required two surgeries to remove.
Sadly, Keaton revealed that she had also struggled with bulimia, where she would eat large quantities of food before making herself throw up.
Sometimes, Keaton said that she would consume as much as 20,000 calories in a single day.
She said: “Typical dinner was a bucket of chicken, several orders of fries with blue cheese and ketchup, a couple TV dinners, a quart of soda, pounds of candy, a whole cake and three banana cream pies.”
Eventually, she sought help for the condition.
She said: “Somebody mentioned that I seemed to have some mental issues, so I went to an analyst. I would go five days a week.”
Many people in the film industry have come forward to share their grief and pay tribute to Keaton after her death.
In her final post on social media, she shared a picture of herself with her beloved Golden Retriever, Reggie.
The caption of the post, which was a collaboration with home decor brand Hudson Grace, read: "Proof our pets have great taste too! Happy National Pet Day from HG & @diane_keaton."