From a young age, Diane Keaton knew what she wanted in her future and what she didn’t. Marriage was never on her list. Neither was raising children, until something in her life shifted.
From a young age, Diane Keaton knew the path she wanted to pursue. She studied Drama at Santa Ana College before leaving to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. By the late 1960s, she was acting in Broadway productions and quickly moved into film, with early roles in “Play It Again, Sam” and “The Godfather.”
One thing she never set out to become was a mother. That decision came later, shaped by a personal loss and a shift in how she saw the future. She became a mother without marrying or publicly announcing her plans. Her two children were adopted five years apart and have lived most of their lives away from cameras.
By the mid-1990s, Diane had already established herself as one of the most recognizable figures in American film. With roles in “Annie Hall,” “Reds,” and “The Family Stone,” she had achieved critical and commercial success.
But when her father passed away from a brain tumor, the loss prompted her to reflect on what the rest of her life might look like. She returned to California not long after. In a past interview, Diane explained that her father’s passing was the catalyst that pushed her toward motherhood.
Until then, she had no plans to become a parent. “I liked being a daughter,” she explained. “I really enjoy being a daughter. I don’t think I wanted to be somebody who could take [parenthood] on until I had to accept that I had to move on.” Diane was 50 years old when she adopted her first child.
In a separate interview, she said the decision may have been impulsive. At 30, she had looked down on the idea of someone adopting at that age. “I remember thinking at the time, ‘Well, that’s not a good idea at all,'” she shared. But years later, her views shifted.
“As life goes on, things change,” she said. “You just don’t really know for sure where your journey is taking you.” For Diane, motherhood can’t be reduced to a simple statement. “It’s by far the best choice I ever made,” she said. When asked to describe what it brought to her life, she paused and called it “too profound.”
The actress adopted her first child, Dexter Keaton, in 1996. Dexter had been born on December 15, 1995. Unlike her mother, she did not enter the entertainment industry. She took on several part-time jobs during her teen years and early adulthood.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Dexter worked at Westside Riding School from November 2012 to September 2015, where she groomed and tacked horses and helped students who needed assistance. In 2016, she spent nine months working at Petco, where she cleaned animal cages, handled animals, restocked shelves, and worked the cash register.
From April 2017 to December 2021, she was a senior lifeguard at the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center. In November 2020, Dexter announced her engagement to Jordan White. She shared a photo of the proposal on Instagram with the caption, “This morning started with hail and ended with a diamond! I can’t believe I’m engaged! I love you, Jordan! 💍❤️”
They were married on June 12, 2021. Over a week later, she posted honeymoon photos along with the message, “Thank you Jordan, my husband 🥰, for a wonderful and memorable weekend and honeymoon. I love you! ☀️🌺🕊🤍 #shefoundthewhiteone #wedding #honeymoon #hawaii.”
Dexter has shared glimpses of her relationship with her mother on social media. On one Mother’s Day, she posted a photo of herself smiling alongside Diane and wrote, “Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing momma! I’m so thankful to have been adopted by such a strong, beautiful, and talented woman. I couldn’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I love you! ❤️”
Outside of these public updates, she has kept a low profile and has rarely appeared in the media. Her brother, Duke Keaton, was born on February 8, 2000, and Diane adopted him the following year. He is her second child and has also stayed out of the public spotlight for most of his life.
However, his online presence reveals a few details about his interests and associations. He publishes music on SoundCloud, confirming his involvement in music production.
While Duke has maintained a low public profile, his social media activity suggests he is friendly with some celebrities. In one Instagram post, he appeared with Rita Ora and Cara Delevingne. The post did not include a caption, but the image indicated a level of familiarity with the two.
Beyond that, little is publicly known about Duke’s professional life or education. He has not given interviews and rarely appears in red carpet events or press features alongside his famous mother. Diane raised two children on her own.
She never married and has said repeatedly that it was never something she actively pursued. In a 2019 interview, she said, “I think that I’m strange.” Although Diane has had relationships with several well-known actors, including Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, and Al Pacino, she never felt that marriage was right for her.
“I don’t think it would have been a good idea for me to have married, and I’m really glad I didn’t,” she said. “And I’m sure they’re happy about it, too.” She believed the nurturing quality was missing in her when it came to being a partner.
Diane has also given other reasons for foregoing marriage. Talking to actress Lisa Kudrow, she reflected on this with her usual humor, “No one has ever asked me to marry them either, so that might be a good answer. I should’ve started with that and called it a day.”
She recalled an early memory from high school, when a boy told her she would make a good wife. Diane’s response at the time was, “I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a wife. No.'” Her perspective on marriage was shaped in part by what she observed growing up.
She described her mother as a dedicated parent who gave up her own ambitions after marrying and having four children. “She was just the best mother,” Diane said. “But I think that she is the reason why I didn’t get married. I didn’t want to give up my independence.”
In 2023, while promoting her film “Maybe I Do,” Diane was asked how long it had been since she had been on a date. She replied, “Let’s give 15 years. They probably just thought, ‘Enough’s enough… she’s too weird.'”
In an earlier interview, she had said, “I haven’t been on a date in, I would say, 35 years. No dates.” Despite the long gap, she added, “I’m doing fine,” and joked, “Someday, someone will marry me. Maybe one of these nice men that have to deal with me today.”
