Diane Keaton had a brilliant reaction to learning she was a gay icon

For most, Diane Keaton will be remembered for her box office smashes Father of the Bride, The Godfather and Something’s Gotta Give (the latter of which earned her her fourth Best Actress Oscar nominee; she won the accolade in 1977 for Annie Hall).

For queer people though, there’s a distinct selection of Keaton films that have shaped and inspired them more than any others.

The First Wives Club gained gay cult classic status in 1996 for its camp lesbian bar scene and queer representation in Annie’s daughter, Chris. 2005’s The Family Stone, in which Keaton played the mother of a gay and deaf son, was praised for its powerful, affirmative dinner table scene. The following year she dropped Surrender, Dorothy, featuring a dragged up Chris Pine. Then there’s Marvin’s Room – her third Best Actress Academy Award nom, in 1996 – an adaptation of the play by late, gay playwright Scott McPherson, who died four years prior due to AIDS complications.

In short, Keaton – who died aged 79 on 11 October – was a Hollywood titan, but also an enduring gay icon. Self-effacing to the last, Keaton was begrudgingly aware of the former, but the latter? Until 2019, she had no clue of her impact on the LGBTQ+ community.

Speaking to Pride Source around the release of sports comedy film Poms, Keaton delivered this gloriously understated response when asked if she knew about her LGBTQ+ fanbase: “Me? No. I wasn’t really aware… I don’t think I follow things. Maybe I’m missing out.”

Reassured that having a staunch gay support base is a good thing, she agreed: “This is good news! You better believe it!”

She went on to confess that she “never knew” that her choreographed “You Don’t Own Me” dance scene with her The First Wives Club co-stars Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn had become a classic film moment for queer people, and promised to get well acquainted with the history of queer culture. “I’m gonna read everything I can,” she said.

Despite being blindly unaware of the impact of her career on LGBTQ+ folk, Keaton did share a little anecdote about how queer people had existed in her life.

“Well, all along, I’ve had a lot of gay friends, both sexes, and it’s just been part of my life. I was probably living in New York when I first kind of formed friendships that were gay,” she shared, adding that she also found a friend in a young gay man while performing in Bye Bye Birdie at Orange Coast College in 1968.

“He was a friend and he was really talented too. And I remember some girl coming up to me and saying, ‘Don’t you try to be his girlfriend! You’re just trying to be his girlfriend!’ It’s just like one of those stupid things,” she said. “I wanted to tell her that I knew he was gay, but then I just let it pass.”

Her affiliation with the community continued long into her career, with Keaton acquiring the rights to adapt BBC hit Last Tango In Halifax at HBO in 2013, with Sally Wainwright set to appear as an associate producer.

Though the adaptation of the show, which features a prominent lesbian couple in Kate and Caroline, never got made, Keaton made her commitment to the community clear.

Asked whether she’d ever played a lesbian character, she stated: “No, not that I know of. But if it came up, I’m here. I’m available.”

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