Elizabeth Berkley is looking back at her time with Diane Keaton.
The actress, 53, starred in the “First Wives Club” alongside the late Hollywood vet, who died at age 79 on Oct. 11.
The star-studded cast also included Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Maggie Smith.
“It was a profound time,” Berkley told People about working on the 1996 film alongside Keaton. “To be embraced by these three most extraordinary women at the top of their game, women I had looked up to.”
The “Saved by the Bell” alum revealed just how special it was to work with Keaton, Hawn, 79, and Midler, also 79.
“They say never get too close to your heroes,” Berkley continued. “Well, each of those women in their own right not only lived up to what I hoped they would be, they went beyond with their warmth, their generosity, their embrace of me and encouragement at a time where I really needed it in the industry.”
Berkley said all of the women supported each other.
“And on that film – those women did,” Berkley gushed. “So for me as a 20-something to see that, I realized what it could be and that I never wanted anything less than that.”
The “Showgirls” actress called watching Keaton work on set a “gift,” and said she taught her “what true leadership looks like.”
“These women are extraordinary. They’re all in their own right, a force of nature,” Berkley detailed. “And so, to get to collaborate with that kind of power, the generosity on set was really beautiful.”
Keaton’s tragic passing was a shock to many, with the star sharing: “I’m very, very deeply sad about her passing. But what a legacy, not only as an artist but as a woman, a creative.”
“Anyone who knew her knew what a huge heart she had,” noted Berkley. “And just anyone was lucky to be in her orbit. Just a loving, loving, special woman.”
New details of Keaton’s death emerged on Thursday.
Primary bacterial pneumonia is listed as the Hollywood vet’s immediate cause of death, according to a death certificate obtained by The Post. She had it for days before her passing.
The document lists no other significant contributing conditions, but notes Keaton would be cremated.
“The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane, who passed away from pneumonia on October 11,” Keaton’s relatives shared with the outlet on Wednesday.
“She loved her animals and she was steadfast in her support of the unhoused community, so any donations in her memory to a local food bank or an animal shelter would be a wonderful and much appreciated tribute to her,” they concluded.
After Keaton’s passing, a friend expressed that her health had “declined very suddenly” in the final months of her life.
“It was so unexpected,” the pal told People, “especially for someone with such strength and spirit.”
They noted that Keaton’s health crisis “was heartbreaking for everyone who loved her.”
“In her final months, she was surrounded only by her closest family, who chose to keep things very private,” her friend explained. “Even longtime friends weren’t fully aware of what was happening.”
Keaton did not publicly disclose that she was battling any illness. She previously beat two bouts of skin cancer and overcame an eating disorder.
The “Father of the Bride” star’s last social media post was on April 11, with Keaton posting a photo of her golden retriever, Reggie. She had not been seen publicly in six months.
Keaton had two children, daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, whom she adopted after turning 50.
“I didn’t think that I was ever going to be prepared to be a mother,” she previously told Ladies’ Home Journal. “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.”
As Patricia Arquette put it to The Post: “They just are never going to have another person on earth like her.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
