Diane Keaton Was 'The Worst' At This One Thing — But Her Pals Laughed Through Their Fear

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Diane Keaton was exceptionally gifted at a lot of things but driving wasn't among them (unfortunately for some of her friends). "The worst driver," actor Jeff Garlin revealed on the "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" podcast in October 2026. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" alum shared his firsthand experience, when he and his family spent Thanksgiving with Keaton in Palm Springs. "She drove like a scene out of 'Annie Hall.' It was insane," he recalled, referring to Keaton and Woody Allen's classic 1977 film.

Even though he low-key feared for his life, Garlin knew deep down that Keaton had it under control... in her own way. "I was grabbing onto the seat, and I just laughed even though I was scared s**tless," he shared. Keaton knew exactly what caused her issues behind the wheel — and it was not a lack of skills. "What I like to do is look, so I can get in trouble with that, when I'm not watching the road," she told The Guardian in 2023.

That was an issue she had all her life. "I remember Mom used to tell me: 'Diane, don't do that. God, be careful. Look ahead. Don't start looking around when you're driving,'" Keaton recalled. As bad as her driving may have been in some of her loved ones' eyes, she was still a better driver than some, like Keaton's ex, Al Pacino. "He kept his foot on the gas pedal no matter how many times I told him to press the brake if he wanted to stop," she recalled in her 2011 memoir, "Then Again" (via The Christian Science Monitor). "This made for a lot of laughs but a very uncertain ride." Like everything, Keaton's driving was a matter of perspective.

The late Diane Keaton might not have been the best driver, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the activity. For the legendary actor, her distracted driving was almost an inevitability because it combined two of her favorite things. She loved to drive and observe. "I love exploring California. I like driving to Arizona. I really enjoy seeing. I guess my favorite thing in life is the fact that I can see," she told Interview in 2021.

In the 2023 interview with The Guardian, Keaton revealed she had a personal documented history of Los Angeles thanks to that hobby. "I'm sort of addicted to getting in my car and driving through the streets of LA," she said. "Which most people don't do any more. And then getting out and photographing these stores and buildings that have been just decimated. They're no longer there!" Throughout Keaton's life, driving acted like a meditative activity, giving the actor the opportunity to clear her head and focus on the outside. 

In fact, she listed driving as her favorite thing to do in general. "I love it. It's time to think, and you're seeing the landscape, and it's beautiful," Keaton said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (via Oprah Daily). Keaton's love of driving also extended to the vehicles that allowed her to do so. She owned a series of impressive cars, though her favorite was a Land Rover Defender. "It's beautiful. It's big, and I'm safe, and I'm up high, and I can see everything great," she said.