Legendary American actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were tragically found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on 27 February 2025. Gene was 95, while Betsy was 63.
Here, we take a look back at the two-time Oscar winner’s family life.
HIS LOVE STORY WITH WIFE BETSY ARAKAWA
Gene met Betsy Arakawa in the 1980s. At the time, he was still married to his first wife.
Betsy Arakawa is a classical pianist who was working part-time at a Los Angeles fitness centre when the pair first crossed paths.
It’s unknown exactly when their romance began, but the couple made their public debut on 1 January 1986.
They kept their romance relatively under wraps, with Gene telling film critic John C. Tibbetts, “I like to keep my personal life fairly common, so that in my art, one can let go and one can soar,” in 1989.
Gene and Betsy were married in 1991 at his Santa Fe ranch, described by Architectural Digest as a rustic Southwestern-style home.
The couple divided their time between LA and Santa Fe for many years until Gene announced his retirement from acting in 2004.
Gene and Betsy then moved to New Mexico full-time and remained there until their deaths.
DID GENE HACKMAN HAVE CHILDREN?
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa did not have any children together, but Gene had three children from his previous marriage: Christopher Allen Hackman, 65, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, 63, and Leslie Ann Hackman, 59.
His daughters and granddaughter, Annie, confirmed the sad news of Gene and Betsy’s passing.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said in a statement shared with USA TODAY.
“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
WHO WAS GENE HACKMAN’S FIRST WIFE?
Gene was married to his first wife, Faye Maltese, for 30 years. The couple divorced in 1989.
As aforementioned, the pair welcomed three children together over the course of their marriage.
Faye was a bank clerk who sadly passed away in 2017. The former couple met at the start of Gene’s acting career when he was just 25 years old.
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