Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog have been found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Hackman, whose career spanned over six decades, won two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
A statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office read, “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail. This is an active investigation—however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor.”
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Hackman was 95, while his wife was 63.
The actor won his first Oscar for Best Actor with his performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 thriller The French Connection. His second came in 1992 for Best Supporting Actor in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, where he played Little Bill Daggett. He was also nominated for his roles in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) as Buck Barrow, I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and Mississippi Burning (1988).
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the details, stating, “On 26 February 2025 at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased.”
Over the course of his career, Hackman played more than 100 roles, including the iconic villain Lex Luthor in the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s. His filmography also includes Runaway Jury, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, and Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. His final film role was Monroe Cole in Welcome to Mooseport in 2004.
Born in California in 1930, Hackman enlisted in the army at 16 after lying about his age and served for four-and-a-half years. After his military service, he briefly lived in New York before deciding to pursue acting. He trained at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he became friends with Dustin Hoffman.
Reflecting on his passion for acting, he once said, “I suppose I wanted to be an actor from the time I was about 10, maybe even younger than that. Recollections of early movies that I had seen and actors that I admired like James Cagney, Errol Flynn, those kind of romantic action guys. When I saw those actors, I felt I could do that. But I was in New York for about eight years before I had a job. I sold ladies’ shoes, polished leather furniture, drove a truck. I think that if you have it in you and you want it bad enough, you can do it.”
He also recalled his early struggles with self-image, saying, “I wanted to act but had always been convinced that actors had to be handsome. That came from the days when Errol Flynn was my idol. I’d come out of a theatre and be startled when I looked in a mirror because I didn’t look like Flynn. I felt like him.”
Hackman moved back to New York in 1963, performing in Off-Broadway productions and small television roles before establishing himself in Hollywood. He became a household name in the 1970s, especially for his portrayal of Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection. His success continued with films like The Poseidon Adventure (1972).
He was married to his first wife, Faye Maltese, for 30 years, and they raised three children before divorcing in 1986. Later, he married Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist, and they lived a quiet life out of the public eye, making a rare public appearance at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, where he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
In a 2008 interview, Hackman confirmed his retirement from acting, stating, “I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer. I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer.”
Instead, he shifted his focus to writing novels, explaining, “I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press.”
On watching himself in films, he admitted, “It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on-screen. I think of myself, and feel like I’m quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that.”
Hackman’s death marks the loss of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors, remembered for his versatility and powerful screen presence.
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