Diane Keaton To Be Honored With AFI Life Achievement Award

Diane Keaton and Woody Allen, ‘Annie Hall,’ (1977) Photo Courtesy United Artists / The Hollywood Archive

The American Film Institute (AFI) Board of Trustees announced that legendary actress Diane Keaton will be the recipient of the 45th AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film. The award will be presented at a Gala Tribute on June 8, 2017, in Los Angeles. The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute special will return for its fifth year with Turner, premiering on TNT and followed by encore presentations on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

“Diane Keaton is one of the most beloved leading ladies of American film,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chair, AFI Board of Trustees. “Peerless in her mastery of both comedy and drama, she has won the world’s heart time and again by creating characters of both great strength and vulnerability. Her career as a director and producer is even further evidence of her passion for the art form and her seemingly boundless talents. AFI is proud to present her with its 45th Life Achievement Award.”

Diane Keaton – multifaceted and verasatile actor, director, producer, author, real estate developer and photographer –boasts more than 60 diverse credits across five decades. Her iconic roles span the cinematic spectrum, from long-suffering mob wife Kay Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) to the “la-di-da” heroine of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977), a role that earned her an Academy Award® for Best Actress and turned her into a national fashion icon. Perhaps best known for her long comedic collaboration with Allen – including Play It Again, Sam (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), Manhattan (1979) and more – she has proven herself equally adept at dramatic roles, with powerhouse performances in films such as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Reds (1981), The Little Drummer Girl (1984) and Marvin’s Room (1996). During the 1980s, Keaton turned to directing – from feature narratives and documentaries to music videos and television. A perennial box office favorite, she has maintained her popular profile with such films as Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride II (1995), The First Wives Club (1996), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Morning Glory (2010), The Big Wedding (2013), And So It Goes (2013) and Pixar’s Finding Dory (2016). She will continue to grace the screen with her unique presence in the upcoming HBO miniseries The Young Pope.

About the AFI Life Achievement Award


The highest honor given for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973. It is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees:

“The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.”

Most recently, the 44th AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute brought together the film and music communities to celebrate John Williams, the first composer honored in the award’s history. AFI Life Achievement Award recipient Steven Spielberg (1995) presented the award, while J.J. Abrams, Drew Barrymore, Kobe Bryant, Chris Columbus, Gustavo Dudamel, Will Ferrell, Harrison Ford (2000), Morgan Freeman (2011), Mark Hamill, Tom Hanks (2002), Bryce Dallas Howard, Cloris Leachman, Seth MacFarlane, Steve Martin (2015), Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Itzhak Perlman and Daisy Ridley paid tribute to Williams in an evening filled with music and memories.

Diane Keaton joins an elite and highly esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception: