Jane Fonda and ‘Book Club’ Cast Pay Tribute Following Diane Keaton’s Death at 79

Book Club’s Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen have offered their heartfelt tributes to Diane Keaton following news of their costar’s death at 79.

“It’s hard to believe…or accept…that Diane has passed,” Fonda, 87, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, October 11.

Keaton’s spokesperson confirmed to People on Saturday that the actress died, though no further information was initially provided. Her family — which included two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke — “asked for privacy” in their time of mourning.

In her tribute, Fonda remembered Keaton as a “spark of life and light” who never took herself too seriously.

“[She was] constantly giggling at her own foibles, being limitlessly creative…in her acting, her wardrobe, her books, her friends, her homes, her library, her world view,” Fonda recalled. “Unique is what she was. And, though she didn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it, man she was a fine actress!”

The pair worked together on the 2018 romantic comedy Book Club, along with fellow Hollywood legends Bergen and Steenburgen. The Bill Holderman-directed comedy — which made more than $100 million at the box office — cast the four actresses as friends who spice up their love lives after reading erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey in their book club.

“This is a huge loss, both personally and for all of us,” Bergen, 79, told People on Saturday. “Diane was a true artist — tremendously gifted and uniquely talented in so many disciplines, yet also modest and wonderfully eccentric. I will miss her terribly.”

Steenburgen, 72, described Keaton as “magic[al]” in her own statement, as she looked back on her costar’s unrivaled place in Hollywood history.

“There was no one, nor will there ever be, anyone like her,” Steenburgen said on Saturday. “I loved her and felt blessed to be her friend. My love to her family. What a wonder she was!!!”

Many other tributes poured in following the shocking news of Keaton’s death, including her First Wives Club costar Bette Middler, who shared how “unbearably sad” it was to lose the “brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary” actress.

“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star,” Midler wrote via Instagram. “What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”

Ben Stiller referred to Keaton as “one of the greatest film actors ever” via X, while Henry Winkler eulogized the Oscar winner as “an extraordinarily talented woman.”

“Every so often a person comes along that defies all definition,” Keaton’s Mrs. Soffel costar Matthew Modine wrote via X. “They’re a wonderful mystery. Sometimes they go digging within themselves attempting to discover something hidden inside — and then discover something magical — which they keep private. Diane was like that. All that and more — all packaged behind her gorgeous smile, razor sharp wit, and deliciously infectious laugh. Good speed, sister.”

Keaton’s career spanned nearly 60 years, and saw her win a Best Actress Oscar for 1977’s Annie Hall. She later branched out as a writer and filmmaker, in addition to continuing to act in popular comedies until shortly before her death. (Her final film role was the 2024 comedy Summer Camp, in which she starred with Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard.)