Diane Keaton’s Final Days: ‘Funny Right Up Until the End’

Now, a source is helping shed some light on Keaton’s last days.

Talking to People magazine, the intimate said, Keaton had remained “funny right up until the end,” and that she “lived exactly how she wanted to, which was on her own terms, surrounded by the people and things she really loved.”

It’s hard to look back and deduce from Keaton’s low profile over the past year that it could have been a sign, mainly because — as the source asserts — “Being in the spotlight wasn’t important.”

However, People reports that one major clue came when Keaton listed her “dream home” for $29 million, even after having said she would die there. A source told the outlet that her health had “declined very suddenly, which was heartbreaking for everyone who loved her.”

A source also said Keaton, a Brentwood, California, staple, had suddenly vanished from her daily dog walks.

Her final Instagram post was in April, and was dedicated to her beloved golden retriever Reggie. In the photo, Keaton is smiling happily as she presents Reggie with some organic dog biscuits.

Prior to that, in late 2024, Keaton posted about a dream fulfilled — the creation of a holiday single. Her career began as a singer, and ended with the release of the tune “First Christmas.” Prior to this, she had famously sung in Woody Allen’s movies “Radio Days” and in “Annie Hall.”

She had also directed two music videos for Belinda Carlisle in the ’80s, including the clip for her no. 1 smash “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” in 1987.

Along with her dog and her music, Keaton apparently spent a lot of time with a close-knit circle of friends as her life wound down.

A film exec told People, “In these last few years, she kept a close circle and she liked it that way. She was funny right up until the end and she had this way of making even ordinary moments feel special. That was just who she was.”

Keaton was also tight with her children, Dexter, 29, and Duke, 25, both of whom she adopted in her 50s. They were among the only people with Keaton when she declined.

In 2003, she told Film Monthly of her later-in-life experiences with motherhood, “Motherhood has completely changed me. It’s just about the most completely humbling experience I’ve ever had.”