LOS ANGELES − Hours after Diane Keaton's death was revealed, Reese Witherspoon paid tribute to "one of my first mentors."
In front of hundreds of attendees at her Hello Sunshine Shine Away conference, the "Morning Show" actress took a few minutes to honor Keaton's legacy on Oct. 11. "I'm going to try to get through this without tearing, but I don't know if you guys heard that Diane Keaton passed today," Witherspoon said onstage.
"She was really important," she said, holding back tears. "She was one of my first mentors in this business."
Keaton, an Oscar-winning actress beloved for her roles in "Annie Hall," the "Godfather" films and more recently the "Book Club" franchise, died at 79, according to People and The New York Times.
Witherspoon recalled meeting Keaton when she was 15 and just starting her acting career. Keaton cast Witherspoon in 1991's "Wildflower," which she directed.
