Quote Of The Day By Diane Keaton: 'What Makes A Heroine? I Think I Can Answer That...'

Diane Keaton wasn't born to be a trailblazer. On January 5, 1946, her arrival heralded only the start of a family for a former Navy officer turned engineer and his beauty queen wife. In fact, it was the theatricality of the Mrs. Los Angeles pageant, which her mother won, that first sparked Keaton's passion for performing. These humble origins ensured that her head never got too big, no matter what size it was projected onto the screen. "Diane's the most self-deprecating person alive," director Nancy Meyers told Newsweek.

It was exactly this quality, however — this unassuming drive — that took her as far as she needed to go to achieve her dreams. We're not just talking about her Oscar for best actress, either. From the catalog of fashion and photography books now sitting on coffee tables all over the world to the activism that made Diane Keaton a Hollywood great, she knew something about taking big risks to accomplish great things, and that's why Keaton is today's quote of the day.

"What makes a heroine? I think I can answer that," Diane Keaton ventured, speaking from the podium at the L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth ceremony in 2014 (per HuffPost). "A heroine is a woman who risks going too far in order to find out how far one can go for a cause greater than herself." As Keaton became the face of L'Oréal Paris in 2006, she was one of nine brand ambassadors on the docket to introduce that year's honorees, everyday women nominated by their communities for driving change.

The heroine Keaton was talking about is Audra Wilford, the founder of the MaxLove Project, which provides nutritional and healthcare support to children with cancer. In a red carpet interview with Extra, Keaton praised Wilford for creating the foundation in the wake of her own son's cancer diagnosis, concluding that "she's just kind of remarkable." It's tough to go too far when it comes to supporting children with cancer, but it's always worth it to take risks in the name of something bigger.

Diane Keaton was no stranger to shooting for the moon. (Get it? Like her 1982 movie, "Shoot the Moon?") She was only 19 when she dropped out of college to move to New York, auditioning relentlessly by day and singing in nightclubs by night. Her ambition might have tempted her to compromise her authenticity to appeal to directors, but it was, in fact, her reputation for being quirky that attracted the attention of Francis Ford Coppola, who cast her in her breakthrough role in "The Godfather." She was in her fifties by the time she decided to join the ranks of celebs who had kids later in life by adopting two children. And Keaton's activism was also a part of what made her a Hollywood great, from her work in animal welfare to preserving the history of Los Angeles.

With any of these decisions, Keaton could have attracted merciless criticism or even derailed her entire life. However, if she never had the courage to step into new ventures, she never would have become the legend that she was. Likewise, without finding the limits of your own capabilities, you might never accomplish as much as you otherwise could have, particularly with greater causes. Diane Keaton might have been the most self-deprecating person alive, but by keeping her words in mind the next time you consider boxing yourself in, you can elevate her to halls of the heroines she celebrated.

• "I never understood the idea that you're supposed to mellow as you get older. Slowing down isn't something I relate to at all."
• "I'm stuck in this idea that I need to be authentic ... My face needs to look the way I feel."
• "Choosing the freedom to be uninteresting never quite worked for me."
• "Seeing is the gift that keeps giving. It's much more engaging than being seen."
• "So you make a mistake here and there; you do too much or you do too little. Just have fun. Smile. And keep putting on lipstick."