Keanu Reeves made a splash in 2019 when he attended the LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los Angeles with artist Alexandra Grant. The pair instantly made headlines, most notably with the 55-year-old Keanu being praised for being a man in Hollywood who actually appears to be dating a woman closer to his own age.
Since then, we've learned about how the two have had a longtime friendship. Now they've been together for a few years and she's clearly the main lady in Keanu's life.
Of the many reactions to Keanu and Alexandra, many were surprised to see Keanu with an age-appropriate partner. Even more of them were surprised to see the 46-year-old rocking gray hair. In Los Angeles, there aren't too many women who are proud to flaunt their grays.
Since they're the trendsetters, that becomes a fact that trickles into pop culture. In an Instagram post from what's believed to be Alexandra's account, she explains when she first went gray and why she's decided to stay that way.
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Fans of Keanu Reeves were surprised to see him attend the LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los Angeles with a date. Keanu attended with artist Alexandra Grant. The two were holding hands in pictures, leading many to wonder if they are an item.
Keanu and Alexandra first met in 2011. Alexandra provided illustrations for Keanu's book, Ode to Happiness. It was Keanu's first venture as an author and her first time providing art for a book. It wouldn't be the last time the two worked together.
They teamed up again in 2016 for another book by Keanu, Shadows. They enjoyed working together so much they decided to start a publishing house. X Artists' Books publishes "thoughtful, high-quality, artist-centered books that fit within and between genres."
Aside from her work with Keanu, Alexandra is also a philanthropist. She founded the grantLOVE project. The organization has raised funds for arts-based nonprofits, including Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), Project Angel Food, Art of Elysium, 18th Street Arts Center, and LAXART, according to her website.
Keanu managed to attend one of Alexandra's openings earlier this year while going relatively unnoticed. Her solo exhibition, Born to Love, was displayed at Lowell Ryan Projects, a gallery in Los Angeles. The video shows a smile plastered on the actor's face.
Alexandra's art has been featured in a number of places. Among them are LACMA, MOCA (Los Angeles), the Hammer Museum, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Keanu even accompanied her to the MOCA benefit in October.
Among the many comments made about Keanu's rumored new love interest, a number were about her appearance. Many people appreciated that Keanu is dating someone more age-appropriate, as most men his age in Hollywood do not. People were also surprised to see the 46-year-old artist wearing her natural hair color.
Alexandra recently spoke out on her hair. In an Instagram post, Alexandra shared an article from Newsweek titled "Breast Cancer Linked to Permanent Hair Dye and Chemical Hair Straighteners in Study of Almost 50,000 Women." The article inspired her to speak on her own gray hair.
"Wow. Today's news… The numbers are staggering, especially for womxn of color," Alexandra wrote in the caption. She then explained the journey in which she went gray and decided to stay that way, in an awesome and inspiring move. She uses the term "womxn" to include all who identify as women, including transgender women.
"I went gray prematurely in my early 20's … and dyed my hair every color along the way until I couldn't tolerate the toxicity of the dyes any more," Alexandra wrote. "In my 30's I let my hair turn 'blonde'… I love and support that every womxn can choose how she wants to look at every age. But/and, if womxn are perishing from beauty standards… then let's talk about those beauty standards. Love to all womxn!"
Funnily enough, the gray hair is a big reason why fans initially thought it was Helen Mirren accompanying Keanu. Fans joked that the pairing would have been just as shocking. This, of course, is a nod to how private Keanu has been about his love life in the past.
Helen learned of the mix-up and was flattered. "I saw that," Helen told Entertainment Tonight. "That was very flattering on me, you know, because she's obviously lovely." Of course, Helen does also know Keanu.
"I do know Keanu very well," she added. "He did a film with my husband and he is just the most adorable, lovely person. So she's a lucky girl and I'm sure that he's a lucky boy." Helen's husband, Taylor Hackford, directed Keanu in 1997's The Devil's Advocate.
Although it's unlikely we'll get a confirmation on what's going on between Keanu and Alexandra, they do seem lovely together. They're both very accomplished and fascinating people. Friends or more, they seem to really enjoy one another's company.