Sarah Paulson Introduces Actor Awards In Memoriam Segment Featuring Her Late Friend Diane Keaton
Sarah Paulson Introduces Actor Awards In Memoriam Segment Featuring Her Late Friend Diane Keaton
Brenton Blanchet, Liza EsquibiasMon, March 2, 2026 at 3:36 AM UTC
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Sarah Paulson; Diane KeatonCredit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage -
Sarah Paulson introduced the "In Memoriam" segment at the 2026 Actor Awards on Sunday, March 1
Among those honored was Paulson's close friend Diane Keaton, who died on Oct. 11 at age 79
The ceremony also paid tribute to other late stars such as Catherine O'Hara, James Van Der Beek and Eric Dane
Sarah Paulson is paying tribute those we have lost in the past year.
On Sunday, March 1, the All's Fair actress, 51, introduced the "In Memoriam" segment at the 2026 Actor Awards at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
"Actors make up a family of souls bonded by a challenging pursuit, by valuing our creative spirit and often brought close by our mutual support and affection," Paulsen began. "I am proud to be in the family of actors in this room and all over the world. It is a tremendous privilege to work and to share such rich times with so many gifted people."
"This year, we have lost some true giants — our teachers, our co-workers, our inspirations and our friends," she continued. "All of us have been lifted by them. We are happier, wiser, made just a bit more expansive by their shared spirit, and we must remember how lucky we are to have been changed by them, and we have been."
Among the stars honored at the ceremony were Catherine O'Hara, James Van Der Beek and Eric Dane, as well as Paulson's close friend Diane Keaton.
Diane Keaton; Catherine O'Hara; James Van Der Beek; Eric DaneCredit: Getty (4)
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Keaton died on Oct. 11 at age 79 following a bacterial pneumonia infection.
Paulson, 51, previously remembered Keaton at the Los Angeles premiere for her new Hulu series All's Fair back in October. At the time, she told Access Hollywood that Keaton was "a very dear friend of mine, so it's not something I'm able to talk about yet."
"I'm not able to talk about it. But all I can say, and I have been saying tonight, which is important to me to communicate, is that what you thought she was as a performer, she was even more spectacular as a human being," she said.
Paulson added, "I was the luckiest person in the world to have had her in my life the way that I did." The pair starred alongside each other in the 1999 movie The Other Sister. Keaton played Paulson's onscreen mother in the film, which led to a decades-long friendship.
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In December, during The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment gala in Los Angeles, Paulson paid tribute to Keaton while appearing on stage alongside Goldie Hawn. “I want to tell you how much crummier the world is without you in it,” Paulson said of Keaton, reciting an email she wished she could send. “I want to tell you how the world lost its mind with grief the day you died.”
Diane Keaton and Sarah Paulson at the Hammer Museum's "Gala in the Garden" on Oct. 10, 2015Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty
O'Hara died on Jan. 30 at 71, which her rep later confirmed following "a brief illness." In February, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed the Schitt's Creek alum died after suffering from a pulmonary embolism, according to a death certificate. Rectal cancer was listed as the underlying cause of the embolism.
At the 2026 Actor Awards, O'Hara earned a posthumous win for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role as Patty Leigh in The Studio, which the show's star and creator Seth Rogen tearfully accepted on her behalf.
"I obviously have been reflecting on the time I was fortunate enough to spend with her and working with her, and something that I’ve just been marveling at over the last few weeks was was really her ability to be generous and kind and gracious, while never, ever minimizing her own talents and her own ability to contribute to the work that we were doing," he said in part.
"So I guess I’ll just leave you with this," Rogen went on to conclude, "if you have people in your lives that don’t know her work, if there are kids in your lives or just people who are out of touch or stupid or something, just show them O’Hara dancing to Harry Belafonte in Beetlejuice. Show them O’Hara hurting her knee in Best in Show and doing that amazing thing where she hobbles around and tells the people, as they are laughing, that that’s Catherine O’Hara."
Seth Rogen; Catherine O'HaraCredit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Mike Coppola/Getty
Van Der Beek, known for his beloved role on Dawson's Creek, died on Feb. 11 at 48, two years after he first revealed his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in November 2024. His wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared the news of his death via Instagram last month.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” Kimberly wrote. “He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Just 10 months after publicly announcing his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), aka Lou Gehrig's disease, Dane died on Thursday, Feb. 19.
The Grey's Anatomy actor spent "his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife [Rebecca Gayheart], and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world," his family said in a statement at the time.
See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 32nd annual Actor Awards Sunday, March 1 as they air live on Netflix.
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