Almost two months after her death, Diane Keaton was honored last night at The Hollywood Reporter‘s Annual Women in Entertainment Gala. Her former costars Sarah Paulson and Goldie Hawn (from The Other Sister and The First Wives Club, respectively) tearfully shared some of their fondest memories of Keaton, who passed away from pneumonia in October at 79.
Of course, they’re not the only ones who’ve expressed their admiration and appreciation in remembrance of the beloved actress. There’s been an outpouring of love for Keaton since news of her death broke.
We recently reflected on the icon’s impact with another one of her former costars: Mandy Moore, who played Keaton’s daughter in 2007’s Because I Said So.
“She was so maternal, which I was so struck by,” Moore tells us. “I mean, obviously, she was a mom, but I just felt this immediate warmth.”
Moore remembers that Keaton always showed up to set in style — not at all surprising, but still a daily delight. “I was usually called in before her for hair and makeup, and I would watch her walk into the trailer and see what she was wearing and geek out over her sense of personal style. I was always like, ‘Wait, are you already in wardrobe? Or you just rolled in with the hat and the gloves and the boots?'” Moore recalls. “She was so intrinsically cool. And it wasn’t just her style, it was her aura. It was her.”
To Moore, the Annie Hall star was a role model in other ways, too. “She seemed to be this unicorn in the business and to really do things on her own terms, which I loved.”
The 41-year-old already feels Keaton’s absence. “She felt like this presence that would be here forever. The idea of the world existing without her seems so strange. She just had this magical unicorn spirit.”
Moore adds, “It was so easy to pretend to be family with her, and I relished every minute of being in her presence.”
In Because I Said So, Keaton played an overbearing mother whose relentless meddling pushes her adult daughter away. So far, Moore’s parenting style is headed down a different path. “I know it all came from a loving place, and I very much appreciate that and can understand it now, being a mom,” Moore says of Keaton’s character. “But I also don’t want to ever make my kids feel that way if I can help it. We’ll have to see how my mom style evolves.”
For now, part of Moore’s approach is accepting that parenthood is unpredictable — and sometimes chaotic. She learned that firsthand last year, when both of her sons came down with respiratory syncytial virus, RSV, at the same time, an experience she describes as frightening and disorienting even though they didn’t require hospitalization. “It was terrifying because they were quite sick, and I’d had friends whose kids were hospitalized. As new parents, you just don’t know how to cope.”
So when her daughter Louise “Lou” Everett was born in September 2024, she made RSV prep a priority. “I was really scared of what RSV season might have in store for us with a newborn, with their underdeveloped immune system. And with two older in preschool bringing home germs, I had to protect my daughter. So we went to our pediatrician, and he told us about Beyfortus, a preventive antibody injection — not a vaccine,” she says. Beyfortus helps protect babies under two from severe RSV lung infection by providing the antibodies that their developing immune systems lack to help them fight RSV. ”RSV is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in kids under one, and because of our personal experience, I just knew this was the right move for my family. Being able to take this preventative step was just an immense relief.”
The medical stress with her sons impacted her parenting style. “That’s when I started realizing, every day is gonna bring some new challenge, and some days I’m gonna feel better equipped to handle it than other days. But it is daunting, especially this time of year. I kind of just surrender to the fact that we’re going to get sick; it is what it is. But having the tools and the bandwidth to recognize what your options are, that always makes me feel comforted.”
Knowing she’s not alone in the experience is also a relief. “It’s so hard and so chaotic, and all parents are just muscling our way through as best we can. Remembering that I’m not alone in feeling absolutely overwhelmed gives me solace.”
