Gene Hackman, the legendary Hollywood actor, has been found dead at his home alongside his wife and dog. This is what we know.
Gene Hackman, the legendary Hollywood actor, has been found dead at his home alongside his wife and dog. This is what we know.
By Chris Paine
Updated February 27, 2025 — 8.37pmfirst published at 8.11pm
Gene Hackman, the legendary Hollywood actor, has been found dead at his home alongside his wife and dog.
Here’s what we know so far.
What happened to Gene Hackman?
Hackman, 95, and his wife, the 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home.
The couple lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and were discovered by deputies responding to a welfare request.
Hackman and Arakawa were found alongside their dog.
How did they die?
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office have not provided a cause of death. It said there was no suspicion of foul play.
What was Hackman known for?
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The actor was a veteran stage presence over decades in Hollywood, playing a wide variety of roles.
He won two Academy Awards for Best Actor, his first for The French Connection (1971) and his second in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992).
Culture editor-at-large Michael Idato described Hackman as an actor who delivered “illuminating performances which stunned us, made us cry, and, far more often than Hackman’s serious demeanour might suggest, left us weeping in laughter.”
Hackman retired from acting in 2004 after a string of blockbuster roles that also included the films Superman II, The Firm, The Birdcage, Enemy of the State and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Who was his wife?
Arakawa was a gifted classical pianist who married Hackman in 1991.
The couple met at a gym in California during the 1980s, according to The New York Times, and began dating.
It was Hackman’s second marriage and followed his divorce in 1986 from Faye Maltese.
Chris Paine is the Head of Premium Content for Nine’s metro mastheads.Connect via Twitter or email.
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