Steenburgen, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen are soon reuniting for Bergen’s birthday.

Mary Steenburgen says Book Club cast are her closest friends, they miss Diane Keaton

Steenburgen, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen are soon reuniting for Bergen’s birthday.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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on July 10, 2026 8:11 p.m. ET

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Mary Steenburgen, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Candice Bergen in ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’. Credit: FIFTH SEASON, LLC/Focus Features

- Mary Steenburgen says she misses her late friend Diane Keaton.

- The actress shared how close she and her *Book Club* costars became.

- Steenburgen is preparing to reunite with Candice Bergen and Jane Fonda for Bergen’s birthday.

Mary Steenburgen instantly knew that she’d become close with her *Book Club* costars, and she’s preparing for how much they will miss their late costar Diane Keaton during an upcoming celebration.

Steenburgen, Keaton, Candice Bergen, and Jane Fonda first united for the 2018 rom-com *Book Club*, before then coming back together for the 2023 sequel, Book Club: *The Next Chapter*. As part of an interview with PEOPLE, Steenburgen watched clips from the films.

“There’s just a million memories, and I’m having these two ladies over to my house in a few days for Candice’s 80th birthday,” Steenburgen said of Bergen and Fonda. She then pointed at Keaton and added, “I’m pretty sure we will be very much missing this lady.”

Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen in ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’. Focus Features

Last October, Keaton died of pneumonia at the age of 79. Al Pacino, Goldie Hawn, Keanu Reeves, and Rachel McAdams are among Keaton’s collaborators who have paid tribute to the Oscar winner.

Directed by Bill Holderman, *Book Club* starred Steenburgen, Keaton, Bergen, and Fonda as four women who have participated in their monthly book club for 40 years, but their love lives are suddenly changed by their reading of *Fifty Shades of Grey*.

“None of us had ever worked together before,” Steenburgen said of the group. “By the time we finished that [first] scene, I felt like something was happening. You could just feel, ‘These women are going to be friends of mine.’ And they became three of my life’s closest friends.”

She continued, “And [it’s] still very hard to look at this and know that Diane’s not here. But I feel very blessed to have the other two here and in my life.”

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Speaking to* * ahead of *Book Club: The Next Chapter*, Steenburgen reflected on the impact of the series.

“I’m amazed at how many young women watched the first movie,” she said. “But they like to hear an alternate version of what their future’s going to be instead of this sad, losing everything [narrative]. It’s, what are you going to gain when you get older?”

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