Sarah Paulson has paid an emotional tribute to her late friend and co-star Diane Keaton

She said: "She was a very dear friend of mine, so it's not something I'm able to talk about yet. I'm not able to talk about it. But all I can say, and I have been saying tonight, which is important to me to communicate, is that what you thought she was as a performer, she was even more spectacular as a human being."

Sarah and Diane first met while filming the 1999 movie The Other Sister, in which Diane played her fellow actress' on-screen mother.

The pair remained close friends for the next 25 years until Diane's death.

Sarah added: "I was the luckiest person in the world to have had her in my life the way that I did."

At the same event, the star spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and described the loss as "profoundly sad".

She said: "I can't talk about it in any way that's articulate other than to say that for all you knew and loved about her as a performer, she was even more as a friend."

Diane's family confirmed her death on 16 October, saying she died of pneumonia on 11 October.

In a statement released to the press, they said: "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.

"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."

In the days following her death, several Hollywood figures shared tributes to Keaton, including Keanu Reeves, Patricia Arquette, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere and Al Pacino, who starred alongside her in The Godfather films.