“I miss you, Mom.” With three very simple words, Dexter White, daughter of the late Diane Keaton, remembers the Oscar winner on what would’ve been her 80th birthday. The actor died on October 11 at age 79, but her memory was honored on Monday, January 5, when the 30-year-old White debuted a tattoo in her mother’s honor.
She shared it on her Instagram profile along with two emoticons, that of a broken heart and that of a dove with an olive branch in its beak. The tattoo has three syllables on her arm in block letters, “LA DI DA,” followed by a black heart. It is a quote from the 1977 film Annie Hall, which won Keaton her first and only best actress Oscar the following year.
The second photo shows a pair of forearm tattoos, one that showcases Dexter’s ink and another that reads, “Weird old world.” White tagged her younger brother Duke Keaton in the second photo, just beneath the design.
“Thank you @winterstone for my forever reminder of my wonderful mom 🖤🤍🖤,” White wrote, thanking the Los Angeles-based star tattoo artist Winterstone, whose illustrious clients include Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, and Alessandra Ambrosio.
Keaton, who never married, became a mother at the age of 50 when she adopted White in 1996. She later adopted Duke in 2001. Choosing adoption changed her life, as the actress herself told Life Magazine in 2005 [via People], “The shocking thing is that I worry differently now. Before children, if I worried, it was for myself, but as a parent all you do is worry. That’s the first rule: be anxious about them without them knowing.”
In 2014, White posted a sweet Mother’s Day tribute to Keaton, writing, “I am so grateful to have been adopted by such a strong, beautiful and talented woman. I couldn’t thank you enough for what you have done for me. I love you!”
Originally published in Vanity Fair Italia.
