Image: TriStar Pictures / Jack Rollins / Collection ChristopheL via AFP
HOLLYWOOD rom-com queen Diane Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977's "Annie Hall" and her role in "The Godfather" films, has died at age 79, People magazine reported Saturday.
Details were not immediately available and Keaton's loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People, which confirmed that the actress died in California.
A source told People magazine: "She declined very suddenly, which was heartbreaking for everyone who loved her.
"It was so unexpected, especially for someone with such strength and spirit.
"In her final months, she was surrounded only by her closest family, who chose to keep things very private. Even longtime friends weren't fully aware of what was happening."
Another source said: "Up until just a few months ago, she'd walk her dog every day. She was usually dressed the same, with a hat and her signature sunglasses regardless of the weather.
"She was always very nice, funny and chatty. She'd talk to her dog like he was a person. She was eccentric and had this old-school Hollywood aura. She was very, very special."
A pal remembered the First Wives Club star as "one in million" who was "funny right up until the end".
The friend said: "She lived exactly how she wanted to, which was on her own terms, surrounded by the people and things she really loved...
"Diane always had a very strong sense of who she was and how she wanted to live."
The Annie Hall actress' death was confirmed by her family on Saturday.