Gene Hackman & His Wife Found Dead on the Same Day — Inside Their Love Story That Spanned 3 Decades
The two-time Oscar winner and his longtime partner shared a 31-year age difference. Though they spent years together in marriage, they never had children.
Veteran actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were recently discovered deceased on the same day. They had been together for three decades.
On the afternoon of February 26, 2025, authorities arrived at the couple’s residence in the Santa Fe Summit community, northeast of the city, where they were found unresponsive. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza later confirmed, just after midnight on Thursday, that Hackman and Arakawa had passed away, along with their dog.
He reported that there were no immediate indications of foul play but did not disclose a cause of death or an estimated time of passing. Deputies responded to the couple’s home on Old Sunset Trail, a gated community off Hyde Park Road near Ten Thousand Waves, to look into the deaths of two elderly individuals and a dog.
It was not immediately clear whether they were responding to a report or conducting a welfare check. Inside the home, they found the bodies of a man in his 90s and a woman in her 60s, according to Mendoza.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office stated that Hackman and Arakawa were in separate rooms. Three dogs were in the home, with one found deceased. The cause of death remains undetermined, pending autopsy results.
Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman at the 66th Annual Academy Awards on March 21, 1994, in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images
“All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant,” Mendoza
News of Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths
“What? That doesn’t sound real,” one person
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa at the premiere of “The Chamber” on October 2, 1996, at the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images
Hackman, 95, had called Santa Fe home since the 1980s. He met Arakawa while she was working part-time at a fitness center in California, and the two married in 1991.
They lived together in a
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa at the Mission Hills Celebrity Sports Invitational on November 30, 1991, in California | Source: Getty Images
At home, Hackman appreciated life’s quieter moments. “DVDs that my wife rents; we like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,” he once
Friday nights were dedicated to Comedy Channel marathons, where he paid special attention to Eddie Izzard,
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa at the DW Griffith Awards on February 24, 1992, in New York | Source: Getty Images
In a 2020 interview, an insider revealed that Hackman
The actor stepped away from Hollywood in 2004 after decades in the industry and two Academy Award wins. In a 2009 interview, he acknowledged that he had retired, stating that while he had never
Gene Hackman posing for a portrait in Los Angeles, California, in 1996 | Source: Getty Images
The California native had been advised not to announce his retirement in case an exceptional role emerged, but he no longer had the desire to continue acting.
When asked if he missed acting, he
Gene Hackman at ESPN The Magazine’s NEXT Issue Party during Super Bowl XXXIX on February 4, 2005 | Source: Getty Images
He delivered unforgettable performances,
His diverse filmography also included Buck Barrow, Clyde’s brother, in “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), an FBI agent investigating civil rights murders in “Mississippi Burning” (1988), and the iconic villain Lex Luthor in several “Superman” films of the 1970s and 1980s.
During this time, Hackman was also navigating his personal life. He married his first wife, Fay Maltese, in 1956, and they remained together until 1986.
The couple had three children: a son, Christopher, and daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie. However, his career often
Gene, Betsy, Leslie, and Elizabeth Hackman at the premiere of “The Chamber” in Beverly Hills, California, on October 2, 1996 | Source: Getty Images
He admitted that his career had created distance between him and his son during crucial years, explaining that working on location kept him away at a time when his child needed support and guidance.
In later years, he reconnected with his children. According to an insider, he regretted not being more present but had since grown close to them and their families.
Leslie and Gene Hackman at the “Class Action” premiere in Century City, California, on March 13, 1991 | Source: Getty Images
Meanwhile, the pressures of the industry had taken a toll. The compromises involved in filmmaking became unavoidable, leading Hackman to step away from acting altogether.
His decision to step away from acting was ultimately influenced by a stress test he underwent in New York. During another interview, the veteran star explained that the results indicated his heart was
His decision to leave the spotlight was unsurprising, as fame had never been his focus. “I was trained to be an actor, not a star,” Hackman once
When asked how he wanted to be remembered, the award-winning star
Leaving Hollywood gave Hackman the opportunity to
The film star found writing to be a welcome change from the demands of filmmaking. He
Hackman later wrote two novels on his own, releasing “Payback at Morning Peak” in 2011 and “Pursuit” in 2013. Research played a significant role in his work, and he acknowledged that while it could be stressful, it was a more manageable form of pressure.
Unlike the demands of a film set, where dozens of people awaited his performance, writing allowed him to work alone and control the pace of his creative process.
The author saw a clear connection between acting and writing, describing the shift
These simple considerations, he believed, could guide both an actor’s performance and a writer’s storytelling. Writing provided a sense of solitude, and in his later years, Hackman largely stayed
Although he made few appearances, they occasionally attracted attention. When he attended a show at the Lensic in 2018, the British newspaper The Independent covered the event.
Gene Hackman’s life was one of remarkable achievements, from his decades-long acting career to his later years as a writer. His performances left a lasting impact on Hollywood, earning him critical acclaim and two Academy Awards.
Though fame was never his priority, his dedication to his craft made him one of the most respected actors of his time. Beyond the screen, he found fulfillment in writing, quiet moments at home, and reconnecting with his family.
While his decision to step away from the spotlight marked the end of an era, his legacy lives on through the unforgettable characters he brought to life and the stories he chose to tell.
