At their New Mexico home, the bodies of 95-year-old Gene Hackman and 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa were discovered.
Before the news of their passing broke last year, Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were seen together in public for the first time in twenty years.
On February 26, the Superman actor, 95, and Arakawa, 63, were discovered dead at their New Mexico home with their dog.
“We can confirm that Gene Hackman and his wife were discovered dead at their Sunset Trail home on Wednesday afternoon,” a statement from Santa Fe County read.
“Foul play was not a factor at this time, but this is an ongoing investigation.”
In March 2024, Gene Hackman made a brief public appearance.
Last March, Hackman and his spouse made their first public appearance together in 21 years.
The couple, who have been wed since 1991, is seen in photos exiting a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The two-time Oscar winner was observed leaning on his cane with his other hand while clinging to his wife’s arm.
The Royal Tenenbaums star reportedly met the Hawaiian actress Arakawa at a fitness center in Los Angeles where she worked part-time. Their romance began in 1984.
In 1986, Hackman ended the marriage to his first wife, Faye Maltese, whom he had wed in 1956.
Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Allen were their children together.
In 2004, Hackman announced his retirement from acting.
After he retired from performing in 2004 owing to health issues, the movie actor, who was well-known for his parts in Behind Enemy Lines and Mississippi Burning, essentially disappeared from the public eye.
In 2009, the actor told Empire that a stress test he had in New York was the final straw.
“My doctor told me that I shouldn’t be putting any stress on my heart because it wasn’t in the right condition.”
From 1961 until 2004, Hackman starred in 79 feature films.
The well-known actor received four Golden Globes, two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, and a Screen Actors Guild award during that time.
Working with Hackman on The Conversation in 1974, Francis Ford Coppola, the filmmaker of The Godfather, has been spearheading the tributes.
“The passing of a great artist such as Gene Hackman, an actor who was inspirational and magnificent in his work and complexity, is always cause for both celebration and mourning.” I honor his life and his contributions, and I grieve his passing,” he remarked.
