LOS ANGELES — Diane Keaton, whose effortless naturalism made her a perfect foil to so many live-wire actors of the 1970s in movies such as “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II” and “Annie Hall,” has died. She was 79.

Her death was first reported by People and confirmed by the New York Times.

In an extraordinary run during the era when she was dominant, Keaton’s career spanned the high points of American cinema: Francis Ford Coppola’s Mafia saga and several of Woody Allen’s urbane comedies, climaxing in an Oscar win for her culture-changing turn as the title character in 1977’s “Annie Hall.” Her catchphrase, “Oh well, la-di-da, la-di-da,” became iconic.

Over her career, she received four Oscar nominations for lead actress, winning for “Annie Hall.”

Born in Southern California, Keaton came to prominence after her late-1960s New York stage career, coupled with nightclub singing and acting study at the ensemble-focused Neighborhood Playhouse, led her to audition for Allen’s 1969 theatrical production of “Play It Again, Sam,” which brought her a Tony nomination before the age of 25.

But the real prize would be her extended collaboration with Allen, which resulted in eight movies — including many of the “earlier, funnier ones,” per Allen’s own self-deprecating phrase in “Stardust Memories” — such as the film version of “Play It Again, Sam” (1972), “Sleeper” (1973) and “Love and Death” (1975).

Regarding her most lasting creation, Keaton lent “Annie Hall” her actual name (she was born Diane Hall and often went by Annie), along with several of her personal quirks, mined by a doting Allen, who was at one time her romantic partner. Apart from the critical raves and awards, though, the film made her a fashion icon via Annie’s fedora hats, vests, ties and baggy pants. The Times once called her look “fluttery, vulnerable, almost unbearably adorable.”

“Annie’s style was Diane’s style — very eclectic,” designer Ralph Lauren said in a 1978 story in Vogue, soon after the movie came out. “She had a style that was all her own. Annie Hall was pure Diane Keaton.”

She was often asked if she got tired of the notoriety “Annie Hall” brought her, including the magazine covers, think pieces and fashion homages.

“No, I’m not. Everything is because of ‘Annie Hall’ with Woody. He has a great ear for women’s voices. I’m so grateful to him; he really gave me an opportunity that changed my life,” she told The Times in 2012. “I’m never disappointed about people talking to me about ‘Annie Hall.’ But I will say, a lot of people don’t know ‘Annie Hall’ exists, and that’s just the way it goes — goodbye! It’s bittersweet.”

In counterpoint to her ’70s comic work, Keaton made a dramatic impact as Michael Corleone’s girlfriend and wife Kay in three “Godfather” movies. Initially naive to the criminal side of the clan (“That’s not me, Kay, that’s my family,” Al Pacino’s Michael tells her in the first film’s opening wedding sequence), Keaton’s character becomes our surrogate, eventually pushing back and leaning into her power in the 1974 sequel. Kay is notable for adding dimension and pathos to the compromises of a mob wife, years before “Goodfellas” or “The Sopranos.”

Keaton managed to capture the cultural zeitgeist in her later films, especially in four impeccably styled collaborations with the writer-director-producer Nancy Meyers, for whom she became a muse. First came 1987’s “Baby Boom,” in which she played a successful businesswoman who upends her life to care for a relative’s infant. After two “Father of the Bride” films, Keaton won acclaim and a fourth Oscar nomination in Meyers’ “Something’s Gotta Give” opposite Jack Nicholson as a successful writer navigating romance in her 50s.

Keaton also received Oscar nominations for Warren Beatty’s “Reds” (1981) and the drama “Marvin’s Room” (1996).

Nancy Sinatra, singer and daughter of Frank Sinatra, posted about Keaton’s death.

“Diane Keaton has left us and I can’t tell you how profoundly sad that makes me. I adored her — idolized her,” Sinatra wrote on X. “She was a very special person and an incredibly gifted actor, who made each of her roles unforgettable. Her light will continue to shine through the art she leaves behind. Godspeed, Diane. My heart goes out to her family and to each of us grieving this heartbreaking loss.”

Posting on Instagram, Keaton’s “The First Wives Club” co-star Bette Midler wrote, “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”

Keaton was a patron of the L.A. arts scene and also gained note as a champion of architecture preservation, remaking grand homes across the region. In collaboration with the Los Angeles Public Library, she edited a book of tabloid photos called “Local News” that ran in the Los Angeles Herald-Express.

In a 2018 interview with The Times, she said she felt privileged to still be working.

“I know what I am by now,” she said. “I know how old I am. I know what my limitations are and what I can and can’t do. So if something appeals to me, I’m definitely going to go for it.”

She grew up in Santa Ana during the post-World War II housing boom in the 1950s and told The Times in an interview that she loved going to open houses with her father.

“My father took me to see model homes, which I thought were palaces,” Keaton said.

She began buying and fixing up landmark homes around L.A., especially those of the Spanish Colonial style.

“You have to get to know a house and try to keep its integrity. I try to honor the architect,” she said. “I love to go into an empty house. You look at the house and start to feel what it might need.”

“There are so many house treasures, unsung gems, all over Los Angeles,” she said.

Explaining how she came to edit the book of L.A. tabloid photos, Keaton told The Times an L.A. city librarian came up to her at a swap meet.

The librarian said, “‘There’s these files in the basement of the Central Library’ — the most beautiful building. I took a look. There are books and books to be made out of those images. This is a brilliant archive.”

In recent years, Keaton had become a hit on Instagram, posting photos of architecture, fashion and more. In an interview in 2019, she said she was still very active, eager to work and try new things, but was also thinking more about her mortality.

“Of course, you think about it. How can you not?” she said. “I mean, I’m 73. How long do you live? It’s really important what those years are like.”

Keaton’s personal life was sometimes fodder for the gossip pages, with her being linked romantically to Beatty and Pacino.

She never married and in a 2013 interview with The Times said she didn’t see nuptials in her future — and was fine with that. She is survived by two adopted children, Duke and Dexter Keaton.

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(Times staff writers Shelby Grad, Summer Lin and Cary Schneider contributed to this report.)

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