Diane Keaton's secret health crisis: a silent battle

Late Diane Keaton reportedly struggled with hereditary dementia in her final months.

For those unaware, the veteran actress passed away on October 11, 2025, at the age of 79 in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was pneumonia.

A longtime pal of Keaton told Radar Online that she was fighting off genetically inherited dementia during her final days, which killed her silently, even her family and close friends couldn’t understand the reason for her declining health.

The family deliberately kept the star's dementia private to protect her from the public, even when they revealed pneumonia as her cause of death.

"She'd been struggling quietly for some time. The people around her knew, but she didn't want the world to,” the longtime crew companion shared.

Keaton herself hid her worsening condition from the public eye and went to the ultra-exclusive Palm Springs retreat Smoke Tree Ranch in her last months.

Keaton's dementia reached where she could not recognize her former mentor and lover, Woody Allen when he paid her a visit along with his wife, Soon-Yi Previn.

Notably, on the set of the 2022 film Maybe I Do, the First Wives Club star sundowned her lines to ease her struggle, Keaton was provided with an earpiece.

"It was heartbreaking to see. [Costar] William H. Macy was incredibly kind and supportive, but if there was a break for a meal or anything, it was like starting from scratch,” an insider from the crew of Maybe I Do shared.