Woody Allen pays tribute to Diane Keaton in emotional essay

Woody Allen is mourning the death of Diane Keaton.

The 89-year-old filmmaker paid tribute to his ex-girlfriend and “Annie Hall” co-star, who died at age 79 on Saturday, in an emotional essay published by The Free Press on Sunday.

“It’s grammatically incorrect to say ‘most unique,’ but all rules of grammar, and I guess anything else, are suspended when talking about Diane Keaton,” Allen wrote. “Unlike anyone the planet has experienced or is unlikely to ever see again, her face and laugh illuminated any space she entered.”

The director recalled meeting Keaton at an audition for his 1969 play “Play It Again, Sam.” He remembered that they were both “shy” until connected over a meal during a break.

“That was our first moment of personal contact,” said Allen. “The upshot is that she was so charming, so beautiful, so magical, that I questioned my sanity. I thought: Could I be in love so quickly?”

Allen explained that as his and Keaton’s relationship progressed, she became his most important collaborator and confidant.

“I never read a single review of my work and cared only what Keaton had to say about it,” he shared. “If she liked it, I counted the film as an artistic success. If she was less than enthusiastic, I tried to use her criticism to reedit and come away with something she felt better about.”

The two stars dated for a few years starting in 1969, and as Allen wrote in his essay, “only God and Freud might be able to figure out” why they didn’t last as a couple.

“This beautiful yokel went on to become an award-winning actress and sophisticated fashion icon,” Allen added of the “First Wives Club” star.

At the end of his essay, Allen wrote: “A few days ago the world was a place that included Diane Keaton. Now it’s a world that does not. Hence, it’s a drearier world. Still, there are her movies. And her great laugh still echoes in my head.”

Keaton starred in eight of Allen’s movies, including “Annie Hall,” “Manhattan,” “Radio Days” and “Love and Death.” She won an Oscar for Best Actress for “Annie Hall.”

In 2018, Keaton publicly stood by Allen after he was accused of child molestation by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, whom he shared with his ex-girlfriend, Mia Farrow. Allen has denied the allegations.

“Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” Keaton wrote on Twitter at the time.

Allen, for his part, honored Keaton at the 45th Annual AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony in 2017.

“The minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me,” Allen said at the event. “Much of what I’ve accomplished in my life I owe, for sure, to her. Seeing life through her eyes. She really is astonishing. This is a woman who is great at everything she does.”

Keaton passed away on Saturday in California, her family confirmed. A cause of death was not disclosed.

The “Book Club” star’s health allegedly “declined very suddenly” in the last few months.

“It was so unexpected,” a friend of Keaton’s told People Saturday, “especially for someone with such strength and spirit.”

Keaton never disclosed if she was battling any illness. She was last seen publicly in late 2024 during a holiday shopping trip.