There was a heartbreaking reason why Diane Keaton always wore hats and covered her neck in public.
For more than fifty years, Keaton dazzled audiences not only with her unforgettable acting but with her unmistakable personal style.
News of her death at age 79 on October 11 left fans and friends devastated, and as tributes pour in from Hollywood and beyond, people are rediscovering the emotional story behind her most famous fashion choices.
What many assumed was simply eccentric charm or fashion flair actually concealed a deeply personal (and heartbreaking) reason.
Keaton’s signature style became as legendary as her roles in Annie Hall, The Godfather, The First Wives Club, and Father of the Bride.
Wide-brimmed hats, oversized suits, chunky belts, gloves, layered skirts, and, above all else, turtlenecks – she transformed menswear into something poetic and expressive.
She made individuality look effortless. But while her wardrobe became her trademark, few knew what she was hiding.
In a 2019 interview reported by UNILAD, Keaton admitted that her fashion choices were never just about fashion.
“Yes, it’s very protective,” she said. “It hides a multitude of sins. Flaws, anxiety, things like that. I would not feel comfortable in a short skirt or something cut off with my arms hanging out there.”
She said hats became a kind of armor for her, explaining, “I’ve always liked hats. They frame a head. But, of course, nobody really thinks they’re as great as I do.”
What Keaton didn’t often share was that those hats and turtlenecks weren’t simply a stylistic signature – they were a shield.
Keaton spent most of her adult life battling skin cancer.
She was first diagnosed at just 21 with basal cell carcinoma and decades later again faced a serious diagnosis with squamous cell carcinoma, a more aggressive form of the disease that required multiple surgeries.
Skin cancer haunted her family as well.
“It’s a family history,” Keaton said to the Los Angeles Times. “I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose. My father had basal skin cancer and my brother had it. It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on.”
After years of unprotected sun exposure in her youth, she admitted she had learned her lesson too late. She carried SPF 50 everywhere and constantly preached sun protection in later life.
“Wear sunscreen. You’ve got to put it on,” she once warned.
Keaton’s hats protected her fragile skin from UV rays, while her turtlenecks kept her neck shielded, both from further sun damage and from scars left by past treatments.
The actress’s physical battles were only part of her private struggles.
Keaton also lived through a long fight with bulimia in her twenties after being pressured to lose weight for a role.
She confessed she would binge and purge secretly for years, hiding the disorder from everyone.
“All I did was feed my hunger, and I am an addict. It’s true. I’m an addict in recovery,” she once shared on The Dr. Oz Show, reported by the New York Post.
Therapy helped her overcome the disorder, but she admitted that her insecurities never fully disappeared.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can call BEAT Eating Disorders at 0808 801 0677, or email [email protected].
