Skin Cancer Survivor Diane Keaton Dead at 79
October 15, 2025
From quirky comedies to acclaimed dramas, Diane Keaton will forever be known as one of the greatest style-icons in American film from the late 1960s until her October 11th passing due to a rapid decline in her health. Although the versatile Oscar-winning actress, writer and director had at times been open about multiple health challenges during her life, the single mom’s family has not publicly confirmed the official cause of death, but has requested media privacy during their bereavement.
Considered by many as a fashion icon for her earliest film roles with characters dressed in more masculine sleeves and pant legs, Keaton almost immediately became known for wearing wide-brimmed hats, turtle neck sweaters and scarfs. Over time, the media documented her battle with skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) as a young actress in her early 20s. Her skin cancer was diagnosed and treated as her stage career began with the original Broadway role as a non-nude actress in the 1968 musical Hair.
That’s when an aspiring playwright named Woody Allen cast her in Play It Again Sam, which earned Keaton a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Sometimes considered to be charmingly chaotic, the comic actress rose to prominence a few years later in her first dramatic film role as Katherine Corleone in the Godfather’s film trilogy. However, it was Keaton’s unconventional, kooky and self-deprecating comedic role in Allen’s “Annie Hall” that won her an Oscar for Best Actress.
Having appeared in over a hundred movies and television roles, her lah-de-dah attitude and exceptional talents on stage allowed the actor, director, and author to deliver stellar performances in any genre. Sometimes more transparent about her personal life, and sometimes not, decades later Keaton revealed that she had two additional surgeries to remove squamous cell cancers and admitted that she seldom considered sun protection early in life and only started taking it seriously in her 40s. But, would set an example for wearing sun-protective clothing throughout her career.
“The primary cause of skin cancer is over exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun,” says Michael Steppie, Orlando Mohs cancer surgeon and medical director of Associates in Dermatology. “Studies have shown a strong link between an early onset of basal cell carcinoma and a family history of relatives diagnosed with skin cancer, which indicates a strong genetic connection.” Nonetheless, every family has shared risk factors beyond any inherited mutations, such as the tendency to sunburn more easily due to fair skin or sun exposure habits due to living in a sunny climate like Los Angeles.
Can genetic predisposition cause skin cancer?
Although genetic predisposition does not guarantee a skin cancer diagnosis, genetic testing may be appropriate as there is a strong link between developing cancer, especially basal cell early in life, and possible genetic mutations passed down through other family members. In a 2015 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Keaton revealed to the media that her father and her brother had basal cell cancer and that her aunt had to have her nose removed due to the severity of her cancerous tumors. By this point in the actress’s life, she had become a proponent for applying sunscreen and blocking the sun’s harmful rays by wearing a brimmed hat and clothing with long sleeves and pant legs for added protection. So, if you have a family history of skin cancer, it is important to be extra vigilant.
Eating Disorders and Incidence of Skin Disease
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the two most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. However, both are dangerous mental health conditions that can cause many physical changes to occur over time. A person may have symptoms of both disorders, as each involve a person’s desire to starve their body of food, but with distinct physical characteristics. Anorexia is the process of self-starvation, where the person simply does not want to eat. On the other hand, bulimia is a bingeing disorder where a person consumes large amounts of food before purging what they’ve eaten.
“In addition to affecting one’s overall health and well-being, eating disorders can also impact your skin,” adds Dr. Steppie. “After all, it is the body’s largest organ and includes the dermis, epidermis, hypodermis, nails, hair and exocrine glands.” So, this integumentary system plays a key role in allowing the body to regulate immunity, body temperature, synthesis of Vitamin D, wound healing, and a host of skin sensations. “Your skin tells our healthcare professionals so much about your overall health that its appearance can be used to help diagnose different diseases.”
Even though after effects of an eating disorder can impact a person’s health, most of these effects are reversible with proper nutrition and hydration to help the body recover. For people suffering with traditional anorexia where they refuse to eat, JAMA Network Open conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of seven studies that included over forty-thousand participants with anorexia nervosa. Their conclusion was there was no association of anorexia with overall cancer incidence or mortality, but there was an inverse association of eating disorders with breast cancer.
Did Diane Keaton suffer from bulimia?
Yes, the star of stage, movies, television, photography, literature, and song openly wrote about her four-year-long battle with bulimia in her early twenties in her 2011 memoir entitled, “Then Again.” Her eating disorder began very early in her career after the director for the musical Hair told her that she needed to shed ten pounds for her role in the play. This unfortunately was the beginning of her cycles of binge eating followed by food purging.
At the height of her bulimia, Keaton’s intense bingeing would allow her to consume thousands of calories the day before purging the food. Although the rising star was a master at hiding her illness, it was through her unique relationship with therapy-advocate Woody Allen (who did not know about her disorder while they were dating) that convince her to eventually seek help. Keaton later labelled her experience as the “talking cure”, where she was able to stop binge eating and purging.
About a decade ago in an interview with Dr. Oz, Keaton talked about her addictive behaviors and said she always has to be conscious in her state of recovery from bingeing. Just as colorful and original in her later years, Keaton revealed that all she did as a young actress was feed her hunger as an addict and that she would always be an addict in recovery. While Keaton didn’t reveal details about her health issues during her final months, her brimmed hats were more than just about fashion, as the star took sun protection very seriously later in adulthood.
IN CONCLUSION
Diane Keaton was a uniquely gifted superstar and millions of fans worldwide felt a special attachment to this special lady who always connected with her fans as an everyday person in real life. Moreover, the Californian actress leaves behind a filmography and biography that highlights how she reshaped Hollywood images of the both the comedic and dramatic characters she portrayed. Admittedly nervous around men, this very caring adoptive mom redefined her “female space” early in life as one that never needed to be overanalyzed.
Eating and enjoying the sun outdoors are both things that most people look forward to, but Keaton’s health challenges began very early in life. Her career was launched with a growing fear of gaining weight and the subsequent obsession where thoughts of eating each day triggered very different feelings inside. As an adolescent, she immediately experienced social pressures to be thin, to lose ten pounds quickly for her role on stage, and was also dogged her entire life in knowing that she came from a family with a documented history of skin cancer .
As one of the most unique celebrities of her day, Diane Keaton truly shared so much about the things that she loved about life, and in small dosages shared both her fears and creative solutions for living life to the fullest. When the rising star was first diagnosed with basal cell in her early 20s, she admitted that she never focused on sun protection, as she had preferred to live life unaware of the dangers of sun exposure. But in Keaton-like style, she used her personal story to raise awareness about the importance of sun protection, so her signature hats will forever reflect her advocacy for taking preventive measures against the sun’s harmful rays.
______________________
Since sun exposure remains one of the largest risk factors for skin cancer, maintaining sun-safety habits like the daily use of a sunblock and wearing protective clothing is essential and especially for those with a family history of skin cancer. Conduct a regular check on your skin for new or changing moles, and make it a priority to schedule an annual skin exam with Associates in Dermatology to maintain optimal skin health. Call 800-827-7546 or schedule your appointment online at one of our sixteen Central Florida offices in Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Celebration, Clermont, Davenport, Dr. Philips, Hunter's Creek, Kissimmee, Mount Dora, Ocoee, Poinciana, Sanford, or St. Cloud.
