Born as Diane hall on January 5, 1946 in Los Angeles, California, Diane Keaton is an American film actress director, producer, and screenwriter.  Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970.  Her first major film role was as Kay Adams-Coreone in The Godfather (1972), but the film that shaped her early career were those with director and co-star Woody Allen beginning with Play It Again, Sam In 1972.  Her next two film with Allen, Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975), established her as a comic actor.  Her fourth, Annie Hall (1977), won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Keaton’s mother, Dorothy Deanne, was a homemaker and amateur photographer, and her father, Jack Newton Ignatius Hall (1921–1990), was a real estate broker and civil engineer.  Her father, from Nebraska, came from an Irish American Catholic background, and her mother, originally from Kansas, came from a Methodist family.  Keaton was raised a Methodist by her mother.  Her first ambition to become an actor came after seeing her mother win the “Mrs. Los Angeles” pageant for homemakers.  Keaton has said that the theatricality of the event inspired her to become a stage actor.  She has also credited Katharine Hepburn, whom she admires for playing strong and independent women, as one of her inspirations.

Diane Keaton studied Drama at Santa Ana College before dropping out to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.  After appearing in summer stock for several months, she got her first major stage role in the Broadway rock musical “Hair”.  As understudy to the lead, she gained attention by not removing any of her clothing.  In 1970, Woody Allen cast her in his Broadway play “Play It Again, Sam”, which had a successful run.  It was during this time that she became involved with Allen and appeared in a number of his films.  The first one was Play It Again, Sam (1972), the screen adaptation of the stage play.  That same year Francis Ford Coppola cast her as Kay in the Oscar-winning The Godfather (1972) and she was on her way to stardom.  She reprised that role in the film’s first sequel, The Godfather: Part II (1974).  She then appeared with Allen again in Sleeper (1973) and Love and Death (1975).

Keaton subsequently expanded her range to avoid becoming typecast as her Annie Hall persona. She became an accomplished dramatic performer, starring in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and received Academy Award nominations for Reds (1981) and Marvin’s Room (1996). Some of her popular later films include Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), Something’s Gotta Give (2003) and The Family Stone (2005). Films Keaton has been in have earned a cumulative gross of over USD$1.1 billion in North America.[1] In addition to acting, she is also a photographer, real estate developer, author, and occasional singer.

Keaton’s most famous romance was with director Woody Allen.  Allen claims that Keaton’s sense of humor attracted him to her.  They briefly lived together during the Broadway run of Play It Again, Sam, but their relationship became less formal by the time the film version was produced in 1972.  They worked together on eight films between 1971 and 1993.  Keaton had an on-off relationship with Al Pacino in the ’70s and ’80s.

Keaton has a daughter, Dexter Keaton, whom she adopted in December 1995.  Keaton has recently written her first memoir, entitled Then Again.  Random House published it and put it on sale on November 15, 2011.

Diane Keaton Photo Gallery

The “Godfather” actress, Diane Keaton admitted a secret battle with bulimia.  In her memoir, “Then Again,” the 65-year-old actress said she developed the eating disorder after being ordered to lose 10 pounds for a part on Broadway.  The 65-year-old reveals when she was 19 her insecurities and lack of self-confidence helped lead her to develop an eating disorder.  She wrote that she was friendly looking, no Candice Bergen noting that the smile maybe, was all she had.

According to Us Weekly, Keaton’s battle began in 1965 when a Broadway director said he would only cast her as the understudy for Sheila in Annie Hall if she lost ten pounds.  Keaton reveals she was so desperate for the part that she obliged, and so began her five years with the disease.  According to her, she does not think it was called bulimia then adding that it was just this trick you could do.  she said that it is a horrible problem, ugly and awful.  She adds she was able to finally gain control with the help of psychoanalysis and that her greatest triumph was when she suppressed the urge to open a half a gallon of rocky road ice cream.  Now Keaton is healthy and living with her two adopted children, daughter Dexter,15, and son Duke, 10.

This condition is something familiar to many celebrities who suffer from the pressures of a career that forces them to maintain an ultra thin shape.  Many of the famous have struggled with weight issues, and some have even died from eating disorders.  Many others have not been as fortunate, though most are not famous and people will never get to hear about their battles.

Singer Karen Carpenter is one of the most well known celebrities who died after suffering from anorexia. The 32-year-old had struggled with her weight for a long time, and lost the battle in 1983, after it seemed she was on the edge of recovery.  Carpenter’s death brought eating disorders into the public eye.  Princess Diana’s battle with bulimia was well known.  During an interview with the BBC in 1995, she said she suffered for a number of years due to her low self-esteem, saying she felt she was unworthy.

Mary-Kate Olsen, former star of “Full House,” spent time in a rehab center in Colorado for anorexia.  Doctors diagnosed her condition just after her 18th birthday, and said the disease nearly killed her.  It took an intervention to get her help, and the actress is lucky that she had the support of her family to get her through it.  Olsen was considered the poster child for the illness, with websites promoting eating disorders that considered the famous Olsen twin the ultimate standard.

The beautiful Jessica Alba has also suffered from an eating disorder. In 2005, she told Glamour magazine that a lot of girls have eating disorders, and she did too.  According to her, she got obsessed with it, when she went from a girl’s body to a woman’s body with natural fat in places, she freaked out.  She said that it makes her feel weird, like she is not ready for that body.