Reason why Diane Keaton chose to be a 'single mum' and welcome two children in her 50s

The world is in mourning following the sad news that Diane Keaton has died at the age of 79, which broke on Saturday (11 October).

The actress died in California, and her loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People.

Keaton shot to fame in the 1970s with her role as Kay Adams in The Godfather film trilogy and her collaborations with Woody Allen, which led to her winning an Oscar for Allen’s influential film Annie Hall.

She also starred in The First Wives Club, Father Of The Bride, The Family Stone and The Book Club movies, to name just a few.

Following her death, fans have been reflecting on her life, including her powerful reasoning behind why she never married and chose to have children in her 50s.

In 2019, she opened up to People Magazine about how she's embraced independence.

Diane Keaton welcomed two children in her 50s and raised them as a single mother (Taylor Hill/WireImage/Getty Images)

She told the publication: "Today I was thinking about this. I'm 73 and I think I'm the only one in my generation, and maybe before, who has been a single woman all her life."

Keaton added that despite having a series of long-term relationships, including with Al Pacino and Warren Beatty, it would not 'have been a good idea' for her to get married.

The actress made it absolutely clear she had no regrets on the life decision and is 'really glad' she never tied the knot, joking that as for her former partners: "I'm sure they’re happy about it, too."

She added: "I remember one day in high school, this guy came up to me and said, 'One day you're going to make a good wife.' And I thought, 'I don't want to be a wife. No'."

However, one thing that Keaton did believe she was destined for was motherhood.

Keaton welcomed two children, daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, through adoption when she was in her 50s and raised them as a single mother.

As per People, she told Ladies Home Journal: "I didn't think that I was ever going to be prepared to be a mother.

It was announced on Saturday (11 October) that the actress had died aged 79 (Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

"Motherhood was not an urge I couldn’t resist. It was more like a thought I’d been thinking for a very long time. So I plunged in."

In 2005, she opened up to Life Magazine about how she was finding the experience of becoming a parent.

As reported by MailOnline, she told the outlet: "The shocking thing is that I worry differently now. Before kids, if I worried, it was only about myself, but that's all you do is worry as a parent.

"It's rule number one in parenting: secretly worry without letting the kids know you're worried."

Despite being raised surrounded by the world of Hollywood with a celebrity mother, Dexter and Duke have done a good job of remaining out of the spotlight, which Keaton was pleased by.

She told People in 2007: "They have no interest in what I do, which I think is very healthy. We live a relatively normal - well, sort of normal - life."