In addition to doing what he loved, Keaton shared his life with the people he loved, including his two children, daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, whom he adopted in his 50s.
“I’m so grateful to have been adopted by such a strong, beautiful and talented woman,” Dexter wrote on Instagram in 2014. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I love you!”
But while Keaton has never married, and counts Woody Allen, Al Pacino and Warren Beatty among her former lovers, she has long noted that her children have no intention of following in her famous footsteps.
“They’re not interested in what I’m doing, which I think is very healthy,” she told People magazine in 2007. “We live a relatively normal, well, normal life.”
And whether fans caught glimpses of Keaton’s life on the big screen or the small screen (including on her Instagram, where she amassed millions of followers), many will remember her as an icon — even if it was a title she didn’t necessarily embrace for herself.
In a 2021 interview, she told Ariana Grande, “I don’t know exactly what that means, but that was very kind of you to say that.” “Can you explain how I’m symbolic? What is it? I understand certain aspects of it, but it’s hard to deal with it. I don’t really see it that way. I live with myself, but I’m hardly symbolic. When I wake up in the morning, I’m me again. I’m just a human being, saying, ‘Oh, I better feed the dog.’
For a photo look back at Keaton’s life, keep reading.
