Sarah Paulson tattoos late friend Diane Keaton’s initials on her wrist on what would have been her 80th birthday

Sarah Paulson paid a deeply personal tribute to her late friend Diane Keaton on what would have been the iconic actress’s 80th birthday.

On Monday, the Golden Globe winner, 51, revealed she got Keaton’s initials tattooed on her wrist, alongside a close-up image of the delicate ‘DK’ tattoo etched into her skin.

Her slideshow also featured a silhouetted photo of herself and the legendary Annie Hall star at sunset overlooking the ocean together.

‘You would have been 80 today,’ Paulson wrote. ‘Too many deep feelings to put here… I was the luckiest person in the world to have traveled, laughed so hard we cried, watched a million and one movies, really cried, and eaten French fries with you. You. You. Wondrous, singular, YOU. I will miss you till the end of time.’

She also thanked Los Angeles tattoo artist, Daniel Winter, for creating what she called her ‘forever reminder, of one of my forever people.’

The post was quickly met with an outpouring of love from friends and fellow stars. 

Melanie Lynskey commented, ‘All my love to you sweetest friend,’ while Rachel Zegler wrote, ‘love you mama.’ 

Other tributes praised the bond the two women shared, with one commenter calling Keaton ‘the most iconic woman ever.’

Paulson has been open about her grief following Keaton’s death in October at age 79, after she passed away from pneumonia.

In December, Paulson spoke movingly about her late friend while appearing at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Gala in Beverly Hills. 

According to Page Six, the actress read aloud several voicemails Keaton had left her over the years while standing at the podium inside the Beverly Hills Hotel – with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez among those in attendance.

The messages reflected Keaton’s signature humor and affection.

‘Sarah, I hate your phone. It is always full, and I can never leave a message. Moron, what is your address? Hurry home, sucker idiot. Diane,’ one voicemail read.

Another message said, ‘How are you? I want to hear everything. When are you back? You sent me an email very recently, but it’s gone. Don’t ask why. Don’t ask what I did. I’m a loser from way back.’

Paulson also shared another voicemail in which Keaton said, ‘Look, I want to know every single thing that’s going on with you – your career, your love, your f***ing house. When are you in? Love you, little special. Keep me abreast on developments. Diane, one of your friends.’

Paulson revealed that she has saved all of Keaton’s old voicemails so she can listen to them when she misses her, noting that her messages were always ‘really something.’

She also read aloud an email she wishes she could have sent Keaton.

‘Dear dumb-dumb, I want to tell you I’m sorry that voicemail was always full,’ she said. ‘I want to tell you I’m sorry I wasn’t available every time you called me. I want to tell you how much crummier the world is without you in it.’

The two actresses first met in 1999 while co-starring in The Other Sister, and their friendship spanned more than two decades.

Paulson has continued to struggle with the loss. In October, she became visibly emotional while reflecting on Keaton during the All’s Fair red carpet premiere in Los Angeles, which she attended alongside co-stars Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Teyana Taylor, Niecy Nash-Betts and Naomi Watts.

Asked what Keaton meant to her, Paulson initially told reporters she was ‘profoundly sad’ before her composure finally broke during a later interview with Access.

‘She was a very dear friend of mine, so it’s not something I’m able to talk about yet,’ Paulson said through tears. ‘What you thought she was as a performer … she was even more spectacular as a human being. And I was the luckiest person in the world to have had her in my life the way that I did.’

Overcome with emotion, Paulson hugged the interviewer and walked away.

Following Keaton’s death, Paulson was also seen looking somber outside her late friend’s home, where she was photographed embracing someone before leaving in a black car.

The pair were frequently spotted together over the years. 

In July 2021, Paulson and her partner Holland Taylor joined Keaton for dinner in Beverly Hills, later enjoying a low-key outing at Il Piccolino in West Hollywood.

Their affection for one another was mutual and long-standing.

In a past interview with Interview magazine, Paulson once jokingly asked Keaton, ‘What person, place, or thing makes your heart sing? (You can say me).’

Keaton replied, ‘Of course, Sarah, you make my heart sing. My friends make my heart sing.’