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Biography
Diane was a California native who studied Drama at Santa Ana
College before dropping out to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse
in New York. After appearing in summer stock for several months,
she got her first major stage role in the Broadway rock musical
"Hair". As understudy to the lead, she gained attention by not
removing any of her clothing. In 1970, 'Woody Allen' (qv) cast her
in his Broadway play "Play It Again, Sam", which had a successful
run. It was during this time that she became involved with Woody
and thereafter she appeared in a number of his films. The first one
was the comedy _Play It Again, Sam (1972)_ (qv) which was the
screen adaption of the stage play. That same year Coppola cast her
as Kay in the Oscar winning movie _Godfather, The (1972)_ (qv) and
she was on her way to stardom. She reprised her role as Kay in the
sequel _Godfather: Part II, The (1974)_ (qv) otherwise she appeared
with Woody in _Sleeper (1973)_ (qv), 0073312 and so on. In 1977,
she broke away from her comedy image to appear in the chilling
_Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)_ (qv), which would give her a
Golden Globe nomination. It was the same year that she would appear
in the 'Woody Allen' (qv) movie _Annie Hall (1977)_ (qv) and what
an impact she would make. She would win the Oscar and the British
Award for Best Actress and Woody would win the Director Award from
the DGA. Diane would start a fashion trend with her unisex clothes
and would be the poster girl for a lot of young males. Her
mannerisms and awkward speech would become well known. But the
question being asked was- is she just a lightweight playing herself
or is there more depth to her personality. For whatever reason, she
appeared in but one film a year for the next two years and those
films were by Woody Allen. When they broke up, she was next
involved with Warren Beatty and appeared in his film _Reds (1981)_
(qv), as the bohemian female journalist Louise Bryant. For her
performance, she would receive nominations for the Academy Award
and the Golden Globe. For the rest of the 80's she would appear
infrequently in films, but she would continue to win nominations in
three of them. Trying to break her typecasting, she became the tool
of the terrorist in the film _Little Drummer Girl, The (1984)_
(qv). To offset her lack of movie work, Diane began directing. She
directed the documentary _Heaven (1987)_ (qv), as well as some
music videos. For Television she directed an episode of the
popular, but strange, _"Twin Peaks" (1990)_ (qv). For the 90's, she
has matured as an mainstream actress who reprised her role as Kay
for the third Godfather film and Nina in _Father of the Bride
(1991)_ (qv) and _Father of the Bride Part II (1995)_ (qv). In
1993, she would again team with 'Woody Allen' (qv) in his film
_Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)_ (qv) which would be well
received. In 1995, Diane would receive high marks for _Unstrung
Heroes (1995)_ (qv), her first major feature as a director.
Biography courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).
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Diane Keaton
