Inside Diane Keaton’s Silent Struggles—The Health Battles She Fought Long Before Her Tragic Death at 79.NN
Diane Keaton’s cause of death has not been revealed, but the private actress did share details of her previous health battles.
The “Annie Hall” star, whose death was announced on Saturday at age 79, had battled cancer and bulimia.
Keaton was diagnosed with skin cancer at age 21.
“It’s a family history,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. “I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose. My father had basal skin cancer, and my brother had it. It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on.”
The Oscar winner admitted that she didn’t start taking care of her skin until later in life.
“Back in my 20s, I didn’t pay attention much,” she revealed. “I didn’t research and didn’t really care, and that was stupid because it’s dogged me my entire adult life, even recently. I didn’t start sun care until my 40s.”
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She was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer decades later, which took two surgeries to remove, per the Times.
“The Godfather” star also battled an eating disorder in her 20s.
She became self-conscious about her weight after being asked to lose 10 pounds for a role in a Broadway show.
Keaton later revealed in an interview that a “typical dinner was a bucket of chicken, several orders of fries with blue cheese and ketchup, a couple TV dinners, a quart of soda, pounds of candy, a whole cake and three banana cream pies,” which she would then throw up.
Keaton wrote about suffering from bulimia in her 2011 memoir, “Then Again.”
“Because it’s a part of my life,” she said in an interview when asked why she decided to go public with her eating disorder.
“To keep secrets doesn’t help you at all. I mean, who cares. Frankly, it’s of no consequence but it’s nice for me to feel like it’s off my chest.”
She continued, “I told the truth. I have nothing to hide. It’s not relevant, but for me it feels good. I think I’m a sister to all the rest of the women — and I’m sure men as well — who have had some kind of eating disorder, and I’m a part of the team.”
