How much is Diane Keaton worth?
| Net Worth: | $45 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actress |
| Date of Birth: | January 5, 1946 (age 77) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.69 m) |
About Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton, who was born Diane Hall, is an American film actress, director, screenwriter, and producer. Her acting career began in 1970, with the first major production that she starred in being the 1972 classic — The Godfather. Thanks to her outstanding performance in the first film, Diane was asked to reprise her role of Kay Adams-Corleone in the sequels The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III. Around the same time, she gained international popularity as a comic actor by starring in Woody Allen’s films Sleeper, Play It Again, Sam, Love and Death, and Annie Hall.
Since her acting debut in the late years of the 20th century, the talented actress quickly found success. Her resume includes multiple awards and nominations such as two Golden Globe Awards of nine nominations, one BAFTA Award of three nominations, and one Academy Award of five nominations.
She was born on January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, California. Her father worked as a civil engineer and real estate broker, while her mother was an amateur photographer and homemaker. Raised primarily by her mother, Diane was intrigued by the cinema during her childhood and has stated multiple times that one of her biggest inspirations is the legendary Katherine Hepburn. After graduating from the Santa Ann High School in 1964, she moved her attention entirely on acting and moved to New York.
During the late 1960s, she spend some time in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre where she studied acting under the then-popular Meisner technique. 1968 marked her first official acting performance in a Broadway production when she starred in Hair. Two years later, she received her first role in a film. In her film debut, she worked as an extra for the 1970 romantic comedy Lovers and Other Strangers. Also that year, she starred in two television series – Love, American Style and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery.
The actress began to become rich shortly after her acting debut in the early 1970s. After the success of the 1969 Broadway play by the same name, Woody Allen’s Play It Again, Sam was developed into a movie, where Diane Keaton once again played the role of Linda Christie. Also in 1972, she took part in one of the most popular movies of the century — The Godfather.
The role of Kay Adams earned Diane Keaton just $35,000 for The Godfather, for The Godfather: Part II she earned $500,000 and for The Godfather Part III she earned a total of $1.5 million. Eventually, the trilogy not only amassed a total of $366.8 million in box office earnings, but also became a worldwide phenomenon, which further boosted the actress’ popularity.
Despite being a commercial and critical success, in comparison to The Godfather, Play It Again, Sam didn’t bring a lot of income to the actress but it did earn her first nomination for a Tony Award. At that time, in between shooting various films, she also appeared in a series of commercials, especially deodorant commercials. Throughout there rest of the 1970s, both her fantastic acting skills and friendship with Woody Allen helped her land roles in some well-received comedies – Interiors, Love and Death, and Sleeper.
At the beginning of the 21st century, she became not only one of the most popular but also most versatile Hollywood actors in the business which helped her receive many opportunities. Since then, she began acting in and producing/editing mostly dramas and comedies such as Hanging Up, Something’s Gotta Give, The Family Stone, Because I Said So, and Morning Glory to name a few.
Besides the aforementioned classic, The Godfather, the 2003 romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give became her other most successful film as it amassed over $266.7 million in the box office, from an $80 million dollar budget. Apart from the independent and television films, throughout her career, Keaton has starred in a variety of television series that further boosted her popularity. She has taken part in the likes of The F.B.I., Mannix, Tilda, and most recently the HBO drama The Young Pope.
Keaton’s Total Net Worth
While she may be best known to many for her iconic role as Kay in The Godfather trilogy, her participation did not earn her much. Just $35,000 for The Godfather, and $2 million for both Part II and Part III. No, the financial success of Keaton came at the peak of her career when she landed roles in some very classic movies. Towards the end of the 20th century, she starred in Annie Hall, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Shoot the Moon, Manhattan, and Manhattan’s Murder Mystery.
Apart from acting, Diane Keaton is known for her work as an editor, photographer, and writer.
Overall, from her appearances in more than 50 films, as well as her appearances in TV series, like the 23 episodes she appeared in Green Eggs and Ham. It is estimated that Diane Keaton has earned around $60 million dollars.
Since the 1980s, she has served as the director and producer of a few television series and films such as The Lemon Sisters, Northern Lights, Crossed Over, and Poms. In 1987, she edited and directed her first film – Heaven. Since then she has produced and directed many more films and TV episodes, including producing 13 episodes of Pasadena and directing Hanging Up which grossed $51 million at the box office. In total, for her work in producing and directing, Keaton has earned an estimated $7.5 million.
Through her spectacular work in all of these and many other projects, she became a leading name in the film industry and earned multiple awards such as one Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe, while also receiving multiple nominations. One of her most notable works as a director remains the music video of Berlinda Carlisle’s international hit Heaven’s A Place On Earth. Around the same time, she continued to pursue her passion for photography and began working as an editor and as a photographer.
As of 2023, she has released seven books, six as an editor, and one as a photographer. In addition to these, she has released three memoirs – Then Again, Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty, and Brother and Sister, all of which are New York Times best-sellers. Overall, including all of her work in the entertainment industry, acting, directing, producing, in advertising, and including the revenue earned from her books, editing and photography. It is estimated that Diane Keaton’s career earnings are at around $70 million dollars.
Having lived and worked through the 1970s and the 1980s, Keaton has been subject to higher tax rates than the actresses working today. Back in the 70s, federal tax rates were at highs of 70% on earnings over around $200,000. Of course in 1975, $200,000 was the equivalent of $1 million dollars today and Keaton wasn’t earning that kind of money until much later. Still, until the Reagan tax cuts in 1981, federal taxes were high.
Overall, taking into account her low-earning high-tax years, as well as her more recent high earning years. Diane Keaton’s effective tax rate on her career income is likely around 50%, including her California state tax. Of course, as a self-employed taxpayer, she will have been able to deduct her business expenses first.
Therefore, of her $70 million dollars income, $6-8 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $63 million, will have become $31.5 million dollars having paid the same amount in taxes.
While Diane Keaton was in a serious relationship with Woody Allen in the early 70s, she has not married and therefore not gone through any costly divorce. She has two adopted children and tends to enjoy a quiet but exciting life. She reinvented herself as a businesswoman buying and selling real estate which is a core reason for her wealth.
Over the years Keaton has acquired, lived in, leased and sold many luxury homes in Los Angeles and in other areas of America. With earnings reaching record highs from her acting work, as well as no doubt many times during her investing career leveraging debt. Keaton has managed to buy up luxury properties including a Lloyd Wright designed property on Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades and a Spanish Colonial Revival in Beverly Hills.
Keaton has made it her business to acquire properties at the lowest prices with the intention of renovating them and selling them at a profit. As she has not been shopping for herself but rather as a business, it has allowed her to pass on certain properties if the price wasn’t right. If one overpays for a property it can be a very costly enterprise, Keaton could even be stuck with it paying maintenance on a property that she bought at above market value.
Keaton has been shrewd and has negotiated the very lowest prices over the years. If she has not been able to make a deal, she has moved on and invested her capital elsewhere. After all, she still needs to renovate the property, list it, sell it and then can also pay her taxes. Likely, because Keaton has been operating as a business she may not have had to pay capital gains tax on the properties that she has sold. This is because if revenue generated is being directly invested back into additional property purchases as part of a business plan, then the money is not profit, it is working capital and can be assigned under CAPEX for tax purposes.
Over the years, Diana Keaton has built a name for herself in the real estate business. There are many celebrities that consider Keaton the person to see for their home and real estate needs. She has sold a mansion to Madonna for $6.5 million. Even though Keaton herself is earning a profit, she is doing so by flipping the property. Buying it with the express purpose of renovating it for sale. The new owners can still realize investment returns of their own, by living in it or leasing it out, and selling it after a period of property appreciation.
The money that Keaton has made through buying and selling (flipping) properties has been substantial. After acquiring a Bel Air mansion in 2002 for under $10 million, she sold it in 2005 for $16.5 million. When she bought a Laguna Beach property for $7.5 million in 2004, after renovating it, she sold it for over $15 million some years later. No doubt, Keaton is also leasing some of these properties and renting others at daily rates over high season for certain periods as well. However, it seems that her core business is to buy it at a good price, revamp it and relist it earning a high margin of return.
That is not to say that she is flipping at a rate of five properties at a time, or doing so with little regard to the properties themselves. Quite the contrary, Keaton is dealing in high price luxury properties and is very involved in the entire process, ensuring that history is added to, and not dissolved in the process. She is very concerned over renovations going right and makes sure that they do. When working with the contractors for the Lloyd Wright designed property on Sunset Boulevard, she is quoted as having told them to “go slow, don’t treat it like any other renovation, and don’t change any more than you have to; keep the integrity of the house and the way Wright intended it to be.”
Keaton has made a great number of these deals over the years and it is estimated that she has generated some $22 million in pre-tax profits from her activities. She invested $8.1 million in a historic mansion in Beverly Hills, in 2007. She later sold the property to television producer Ryan Murphy for a reported $10.5 million, in 2010. As one such example.
In her personal life Keaton has likely spent $7-8 million dollars of her career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around $4-5 million, not including investment assets. That is, including profits from her real estate business as well as some more besides from the stock market. In her investments, she may have earned investment returns of $14-16 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Diane Keaton has a net worth of a rounded up $45 million dollars.
Summing-Up
Diane Keaton is known as one of the greatest American actresses from the 1970s, who has received high-praises for her remarkably skilled performances in various productions. Thanks to her dressing style and distinctive personality, she’s also considered a style icon to many and because of that, she has been the face of L’Oreal. Even now in her mid 70s, the superstar continues to do what she loves and is finding success in acting, directing, writing and selling real estate.
