Diane Keaton’s cause of death has not been disclosed, but the private actress has revealed details of her past health struggles.
The “Annie Hall” star, who was announced to have died Saturday at the age of 79, had battled cancer and bulimia.
Keaton was diagnosed with skin cancer at the age of 21.
“This is family history,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. “I remember my Aunt Martha had skin cancer and it was so bad that they had to have her nose removed. My dad had basal skin cancer and my brother had it too. This skin cancer is nasty. That’s why you have to wear sunscreen.”
The Oscar winner admitted that she didn’t start taking care of her skin until later in life.
“When I was in my 20s, I didn’t really pay attention to it,” she revealed. “I didn’t look into it, I didn’t really pay attention to it, which was stupid because it’s been with me all my adult life and even recently. I didn’t start using sun care until I was in my 40s.”
Decades later, she was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, which required two surgeries to remove, the paper said.
The “Godfather” star also battled an eating disorder in his 20s.
She became conscious of 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 consisted of a bucket of chicken, several orders of fries with blue cheese and ketchup, two TV dinners, a quart of soda, pounds of candy, a whole cake, and three banana cream pies,” which he then threw up.
Keaton wrote about his struggles with bulimia in his 2011 memoir, “Then Again.”
When asked in an interview why she decided to go public with her eating disorder, she answered, “Because it’s part of my life.”
“Keeping secrets doesn’t do any good. I mean, who cares? Frankly, it doesn’t matter, but it’s nice for me to feel like it’s off my chest.”
“I told the truth. I have nothing to hide. It doesn’t matter, but for me it feels good. I consider all the rest of the women who have some kind of eating disorder, and I think men as well, to be sisters. I’m part of the team.”
