Artist and author

My art and my book celebrate

life’s beauty.

My art expresses the love of nature that is ​part of my DNA, springing from generations ​of farming ancestors.

My book explores the love of family.

In it I discovered my famous birth mother, ​the vivacious Karen Black, who celebrated ​and propelled my painting journey.

My Story

A lifelong creative drive set me apart from my pragmatic ​adoptive family. I longed for years to know my birth ​mother, and when we finally connected, I found out ​where my inborn creativity came from.

My birth mom was the 1970's Hollywood icon Karen Black, who ​starred in films such as The Great Gatsby and Airport ‘75. My ​birth father is the three-time Emmy-winning producer Robert ​(Beny) Benedetti, whose varied and illustrious career has also ​centered around the arts.

Karen accepted me back into her life without hesitation, but ​sadly we had only one year together to renew our mother-​daughter bond before she succumbed to cancer. Both Karen ​and Beny encouraged me to pursue the visual arts which I ​loved, and this gave me the confidence I needed.

Painting is now my passion, and I’ve studied with some of the ​Southeast’s best artists as I continue to enhance my skill. I ​currently live in Benton, KY. My husband, Rich, and I, have three ​adult sons and four grandchildren.

Along this creative journey I also wrote a book to share my journey from an adopted child ​without a solid sense of self to discovering Karen and the profound difference our year together ​made in my life.

Birth mother and daughter reunited just in time

Hollywood actress Karen Black gave up a newborn daughter to ​adoption in 1959. For five decades they knew nothing about each ​other. But strict adoption laws could not break their mother-​daughter bond.

When the state finally opened the sealed records, Diane was ​amazed to discover that her birth mother was the actor whose ​unconventional beauty had captured the zeitgeist of the ’60s and ​’70s cinema. Karen starred in some of the decades’ prominent ​films including Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, ​Airport 1975, and many more.

Their reunion was healing and bittersweet, because it came ​at a pivotal moment: Karen was battling cancer.

Finalist for N. N. Light’s 2022 Memoir of the Year

“This book took me by surprise with emotional timbre, honesty, and depth of feeling. While I was ​not adopted, by the time I finished reading Finding Karen Black, I experienced what it was like for ​Diane. …Through immersive writing, descriptive narration, and stark imagery, Finding Karen Black ​expertly weaves a mother-daughter story unlike anything I’ve read before. Diane Bay has a way ​with words, and she speaks with authority, love, and compassion….

One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. Highly recommend!” —N. N. Light

Audiobook

Available on Audible and Amazon

We are thrilled with our award-winning narrator, ​Christina Delaine. She has captured Karen’s voice ​and vitality. She has brought my story to life!

About Karen

Karen Blanche Black (July 1, 1939 – August 8, ​2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, ​singer, and songwriter.

Karen’s breakout Hollywood role was in Easy ​Rider (1969).

She starred in Five Easy Pieces (1970), and The Great ​Gatsby (1974), for the latter two of which she won Golden ​Globe awards for Best Supporting Actress; her ​performance in Five Easy Pieces also garnered her an ​Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

ADDRESS

78 Michaels Way, Benton KY 4205

Phone

270-205-28678

Emails:

Art: dianebaydesign@gmail.com

Book: rootstowingspress@gmail.com