Michelle and Kristina Kennedy shared the role in the 1987 film as infants
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NEED TO KNOW
- Diane Keaton starred as J.C. Wiatt, the ‘tiger lady’ who finds herself with an infant baby in the 1987 film Baby Boom
- Kristina and Michelle Kennedy shared the role of Elizabeth and had the chance to meet Keaton years later
- Keaton, 79, died in California on Saturday, Oct. 11
Diane Keaton may have been known as a “tiger lady” in Baby Boom, but she warmed the hearts of her two little costars.
Twins Kristina and Michelle Kennedy shared duties playing Elizabeth Wiatt opposite the actress in the 1987 film, which also starred Sam Shepard and Harold Ramis.
In 2014, the twins shared the story of how they were chosen for their big break, appearing on Today with their parents, who recalled how Kristina rolled her toy ball into the audition room and got them seen first.
Once they were cast, the twins gave the crew a crash course on working with infants. “In the beginning, (the film crew) thought that they could just have a baby happy on demand, and they found out really quickly that they had to work around [the babies’] schedule, and they were very, very good about that.”
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Fast forward to when the twins were in college and had the opportunity to reunite with Keaton, who was doing a book signing in Southampton, New York, where the twins happened to be.
“We had a picture of us with her, and we put it down in front of her to sign it, and she goes, ‘You know, it’s funny, we were just thinking about these girls the other day,'” recalled Michelle.
“So then she looks to sign it, and she looks at us and she looks at the picture and she was like, ‘No!’ And we were just smiling, and she kind of put it together. And so when she realized, she got up and gave us a big hug, and it was exciting.”
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Keaton once shared her own memories of working with the twins with PEOPLE, sharing, “If I was the mother, I wouldn’t have been happy about the way I tossed those babies around! But they were adorable.”
PEOPLE can confirm the legendary actress died in California. Further details are not available at this time, and her loved ones have asked for privacy, according to a family spokesperson.
Keaton rose to fame in the 1970s thanks to her role in The Godfather films and her collaborations with director Woody Allen. She won an Oscar for Best Actress for 1977’s Annie Hall. Her long career included movies like The First Wives Club, multiple collaborations with director Nancy Meyers and the Book Club franchise.
